There has been much discussion about the timing of treatments now that we have new drugs available to treat advanced prostate cancer. However, today’s technology does not allow us to know what the best sequencing of these drugs to maximize their efficacy would be, so we just punt along. We do not know whether or [...]
On Thursday evening I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Oliver Sartor from the University of Tulane. At that time he informed me that Bayer had finally submitted the required paperwork to the FDA for formal approval of radium-233 chloride. For those of you who are not familiar with Dr. Sartor, he is both an [...]
According to researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan men with advanced prostate cancer experienced significant and rapid positive effects from an investigational treatment known as cabozantinib. In a n article published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (Nov. 19, 2012) approximately two-thirds of men who were treated with [...]
It is unfortunate, but some of us will approach a time when we know that the advanced prostate cancer we have been battling has gotten the better of us and will end our life in the near future. If we are admitted into the hospital we will be asked to sign a lot of papers [...]
Some mornings we just wake up to great news and today is one of those mornings. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just announced that they have approved Zytiga (abiraterone acetate) for use prior to chemotherapy. - This FDA announcement is an expansion of their prior approved (April 2011) for the use of Zytiga [...]
The Early/Expanded Access Committee has been continuing to work on getting additional sites open for men with advanced prostate cancer to get access to the yet unapproved drug Radium-233 Chloride (Alapharadin). Due to the hard work of this committee there are now sites in seven different states. In order to qualify for this treatment you [...]
I have written much about the need to begin studies of both timing and combining of the many new treatments we have recently developed for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. With the FDA approval of Provenge, Zytiga, Jevtana, Xtandi and hopefully in the near future Radium-223 Dichloride (Alpharadin) we have many new treatment options [...]
We all know that LHRH agonists are used for androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) cause a tremendous number of side effects, but it is not uncommon for our doctors to never discuss these potential side effects with us prior to starting therapy. Additionally, doctors neglect to offer alternative therapies that might accomplish the same results (like [...]
We are again looking at a potentially new block buster drug to treat men with advanced prostate cancer whose cancer has become castrate resistant. This potential drug seems to have clinical activity in both soft tissue and bone mets. This investigational drug is called Cabozantinib (XL184). It is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor with activity against [...]
A very common side effect of any cancer treatment including chemotherapy (docetaxil for men with advanced prostate cancer) and radiation is nausea. In addition to feelings of nausea many men also experience a feeling of fullness, a change in the way foods taste and strong heartburn. If you have this experience let your doctor know [...]
