Extra radiation will not keep the doctor away, so why do we use it? According to a recent study published in the Oct. 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association most men who are given radiation to control pain from bone metastasis accompanying advanced prostate cancer undergo more treatments than they really [...]
Today’s post will be a little admonishment of you, my loyal readers. So, please be open-minded and think about what I have to say to you. A number of months ago I mentioned the new prostate cancer research-funding project we have embarked upon, Start A Cure (www.StartACure.com). For those of you who might have missed [...]
Whenever we take a drug, whether it's in injectable or an oral drug it must be cleared from our bodies otherwise it can become toxic to us. Unfortunately, our ability to clear drugs varies from individual to individual. These different abilities are often related to genetic differences we each have from one another. Doing of [...]
OncLive Peer Exchange has put out a video about the issues that most concern many of us surrounding the use of Provenge (Sipuleucel-T). The video is a 9 minute discussion with Drs. Raoul Concepcion (moderator), Leonard Gomella, Lawrence Karsh, Evan Yu and Mark Scholtz. They examine the concern that so many men with advanced prostate [...]
Zytiga (abiraterone acetate) and Ketoconazole (keto) are both widely used in prostate cancer therapy to treat men with advanced prostate cancer. They both have a common mechanism of action, they both work by inhibiting the enzyme CYP17 that is responsible for androgen biosynthesis (creation). Inhibiting CYP17 lowers testosterone levels, which results in prostate cancer tumor regression. Because [...]
On the advanced prostate cancer online support group there have been some questions raised about how we know when drugs like Zytiga and Xtandi have stopped working. Knowing this as soon as possible is important so that you can quickly move on to the next treatment without giving the prostate cancer time to progress and [...]
It was announced today by Dendreon Corp. that the European Commission (EC) has granted marketing authorization for Provenge in the European Union (EU) for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic (non-visceral) castrate resistant prostate cancer in male adults in whom chemotherapy is not yet clinically indicated. This final decision by the EC follows [...]
Some bad news was reported today. Results from the Phase 3 randomized, double-blind clinical trial (Study 043) comparing Yervoy 10 mg/kg (ipilimumab) (n=399) to placebo (n=400) following radiation in men with advanced metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who have received prior treatment with docetaxel showed no increase in overall survival. Yervoy is an immunotherapy which [...]
Mama might have been correct, eat your yogurt. Many of us already know that a healthy gut with plenty of probiotics to support your gastrointestinal health is absolutely critical to boosting your immune system. Experts say that gut flora could account for as much as 80% of our immune system! A study from the University [...]
We have many new drugs that have been recently approved to treat advanced prostate cancer. Two of these drugs are abiraterone (Zytiga) and enzalutamide (Xtandi). These drugs offer new hope to men with advanced prostate cancer after the cancer has become resistant to hormone therapies (called "castration-resistant prostate cancer"). These drugs are a real breakthrough, [...]
