After a great deal of confusion and what turned out to be an error on my part I wish to let you know that the NICE (The U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) Guidance I shared on the blog on January 28, 2014 (http://advancedprostatecancer.net/?p=4360 ) about enzalutamide (Xtandi) was not accurate. In my [...]
There were many very interesting and very important items presented at the recent ASCO GU conference. Over the course of the next week or two I will be systematically reviewing many of these finds that have a direct impact on men with advanced prostate cancer. Today’s review is about how to create better results for [...]
An important update from the phase III PREVAIL study (Xtandi in the pre-chemotherapy stage) was released thsi evening (actually yesterday evening) in advance of a formal presentation this Thursday at ASCO GU. The news is good, no the news is great. Last November the trial of Xtandi in men with metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer [...]
Live in the UK and have advanced prostate cancer? If you do then be prepared to have economics over-ride your legitimate health concerns. The U.K.'s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes no bones about what is more important, money or men’s health. NICE initially did not approve Zytiga, however when Johnson & [...]
A John’s Hopkins Health Alert titled “How Long Is It Safe to Take Bisphosphonates for Osteoporosis?” Should Raise Some Concerns Men on Long Term Bisphosphonate Therapy Hormone therapy (ADT) is notorious for many negative side effects, including osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is the thinning of bone that increases the risk for fractures, especially hip and spine fractures. [...]
Out-takes from an Interview in August 2013 with Brian Lamb, a journalist and the founder, executive chairman, and now retired CEO of C-SPAN which provides coverage of the U,S. Congress as well as other public affairs events and Francis Collins an American physican-genetist who currently is the Director of the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. [...]
Based on the assumption that Enzalutamide (Xtandi) is approved for use in men with castrate resistant metastatic prostate cancer (advanced prostate cancer or mCRPC) who have not had prior chemotherapy, pretty much a foregone conclusion based on the extraordinary phase III Prevail Trial results, including a statistically significant survival advantage of 2.2 months with a [...]
Is the FDA softening their stance on approving drugs using progression radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) (how long it takes for the disease to progress based on scans) as opposed to only survival? The answer is maybe, under certain circumstances. An article in Clinical Cancer Research looked into the US Food and Drug Administration’s thinking about [...]
Below is an article that was posted by the National Journal on Tuesday on the omnibus bill that will likely pass Congress. Take note of the reference to NIH funding. “It is what we are spending tax dollars on, and where restraint is foolish and counterproductive. Funding for the National Institutes of Health is higher [...]
At 2PM this afternoon in a long awaited decision the United States Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that having hormone refractory or metastatic prostate cancer automatically qualifies a man to receive Social Security Disability coverage. If you do qualify there still are some restrictions on your ability to receive benefits. You can't qualify for disability [...]
