Predicting Survival in Men with Spinal Cord Compression from Metastatic Prostate Cancer

There was a recent study to investigate the predictive value of the number of extra-spinal organs involved by metastases for survival in metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) from prostate cancer. This was a very small study of only 95 men irradiated with 10×3 Gy for MSCC from prostate cancer. The investigators considered seven factors: Age, [...]

Metastasis-Free Survival Is A Possible Biomarker for Overall Survival

Researchers at Johns Hopkins has concluded that metastasis-free survival appeared to independently predictor of overall survival (OS) in men with recurrent prostate cancer who underwent androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) after developing metastases. Men with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer (PSA only) tend to survive for long periods so the FDA gold standard for clinical trial endpoint [...]

Evidence Against Step Therapy Being Good for Prostate Cancer Care

On August 13, 2013 I wrote an important post about the terrible practice beginning to rear its head called step therapy. Step therapy is the practice of insurance companies requiring less expensive drugs be prescribed prior to more expensive ones despite the comparative efficacy of the drugs and their different mechanisms of action. This practice [...]

Testosterone Therapy Produces Mixed Results in Post-Surgical Men with Prostate Cancer

Many men, after they have had a radical prostatectomy, find that their testosterone levels are low and are desirous of supplementing their testosterone. (This low level of testosterone is not a result of the surgery). One way of supplementing androgens is by transdermal testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT), but TRT also has the undesirable effect of increasing [...]

Salvage Radio Therapy Extends Life Without Regard to PSA Doubling Time

Researchers at Duke University observed a survival benefit for men who had salvage radiation therapy (RT) for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure after radical prostatectomy (RP) in the men who experience a rapid rises in PSA doubling time (DT,< 6 months). They then asked whether such a benefit also exits in men with a protracted PSA [...]

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