In a recently published commentary about the optimal type of multi-modal hormone therapy for Gleason grade 4 and 5 prostate cancer the author addressed the discordance between results of several randomized trials evaluating survival benefit of continuous androgen deprivation therapy in men with high-risk disease. The study found that after combining data from multiple trials, [...]
The decision to enroll in a clinical trial should involve a discussion between the person with prostate cancer and that individual’s physician. Your participation should depend on many factors, including your motivation for enrolling in a trial, the stage of your prostate cancer, and the trials available and its phase. When you decide to enroll in a clinical [...]
One of the many constantly recurring topics that we discuss is over the efficacy of intermittent hormone deprivation therapy (IAD) as opposed to continuous hormone deprivation therapy (CAD). Which therapy is better has been debated for at least ten years. The debate still rages over the question of efficacy, or survival as well as the [...]
Researchers in Hong Kong wanted to confirm the efficacy of abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) used prior to chemotherapy that had been shown in the trial setting. In their analysis they came up short; raising some very significant concerns about Zytiga’s efficacy when used prior to chemotherapy. They reviewed the clinical records of men with metastatic castrate [...]
The PSA flare phenomenon when first starting chemotherapy with docetaxel has been noted by many clinicians. To evaluate this flare in men with castrate resistant prostate cancer treated with docetaxel, researchers retrospectively evaluated the charts of 56 men who received docetaxel-based chemotherapy in three different centers from August 1999 to August 2007. They found that [...]
There has been a lot of hype and confusion about what is the best contrast for prostate cancer PET/CT scans. The two newest contrasts; (18)F-FACBC (anti1-amino-3-(18)F-fluorocyclobutane-1-carboxylic acid) and (11)C-choline both have their supporters and their detractors. To try and evaluate the efficacy differences between these two contrasts in men who have suffered a bio-chemical recurrence [...]
Since we have many new treatments for men with castrate resistant metastatic prostate cancer (mCRPC) (advanced prostate cancer) we need to develop earlier indicators of when a treatment might or might not be successful. A decline in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is widely used to monitor treatment response, but it has not been validated as an [...]
In an issue of ONCOLOGY, there was a review of the literature provides us with a comprehensive review of the limited literature on management of men with prostate cancer who have pelvic lymph node involvement but no known distant metastatic disease at diagnosis. Common folklore has been that these men, with limited pelvic lymph node [...]
According to an article in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine, researchers compared a PET/CT scan using the radiotracer F-18 DCFBC to conventional imaging modalities — an expanded Tc-99m-methylene diphosphonate (MDP) bone scan and contrast-enhanced CT of the chest, abdomen and pelvis — to detect prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), which is associated with prostate cancer metastases. [...]
The common belief is that if you are diagnosed with prostate cancer that has already developed metastases only a systemic treatment will provide a life extending benefit. In other cancers it has been shown that the treatment of the primary tumor improves survival (tumor debulking). To find out if, in fact radiotherapy treatment of the [...]
