The approval of Provenge has once again brought to the forefront the very important questions about the proper timing of treatments as well as the issue concerning how to combine therapies to maximize survival. We have, although there numbers are limited, different treatments that are used for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, but we [...]
Johns Hopkins, Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Duke University have announced data at the ASCO meeting in Chicago from a 200 man phase II clinical trial of a blood vessel-blocking drug called tasquinimod. This “anti-angiogenesis” drug constricts the blood supply to prostate tumors by blocking new blood vessel development. The study showed that tasquinimod slowed [...]
Obesity has been associated with a worse prostate cancer prognosis and increased levels of insulin are thought to mediate this effect. It has been established that hyperinsulinemia associates with higher levels of insulin receptors (IR) in prostate cancers and increased tumor growth. Men with prostate cancer who are put on androgen blockade (ADT) develop increased [...]
As of today there are many different potential drugs undergoing phase III evaluations for men with advanced prostate cancer, some of them seem to offer great hope and promise. Considering we just had Provenge finally approved, this is great news. […]
We have talked about it many times in past posts, the potential that many believe combination therapy can hold for better treatments for all cancers, including advanced prostate cancer. Combination therapy has made AIDS treatment as successful as it has become and it holds a similar promise for cancer treatment. An example of this potential [...]
In 2007 a Norwegian cancer therapeutics company, Algeta, presented data from a phase II study that showed a remarkable two-year survival advantage with its investigational drug, Alpharadin (radium-223), when used as a as a treatment for castrate resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). […]
At the on-going AUA Meeting, Dr. Howard Scher along with a collaborating group of medical oncologists reported their data from a Phase I-II trial of MDV3100 in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). […]
It has been clearly shown that androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for the treatment of prostate cancer leads to loss of bone mineral density (BMD) and increased fracture risk. More importantly, loss of BMD shortens survival time. (see my post of December 27, 2009 “On the Horizon – Dasatinib A Drug to Inhibit the growth of [...]
A study conducted at The Department of Urology, Yokosuka Kyosai Hospital, Japan, evaluated the efficacy and safety of using a low-dose chemotherapy combination of docetaxel, estramustine and dexamethasone in men with castrate resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The study enrolled sixty-nine with CRPC. Docetaxel dosage was downed to 25 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 every [...]
There remain for many people questions about Provenge. The most common question I hear is about the financial cost of the treatment for what has been described as “only 4 months of life extension for $93,000, is it worth it?” Well, the answer is a clear yes! […]
