For those of us who believed that we are alone in the search for a prostate cancer vaccine for advanced prostate cancer, the good news is that we are not. The Vladimir Ilich Lenin hospital, located in Cuba, has announced that they will shortly begin the second phase of the clinical trial of a vaccine [...]
Are you planning on becoming pregnant? If not, researchers from the Medical Oncology Branch of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health have reported a study successfully using thalidomide to slow down the progression of advanced prostate cancer. Thalidomide is a drug that was first synthesized in 1954 to be used as a sedative. [...]
When I was on a hormone block I suffered from many side effects, among them were the classical hot flashes. Some days I found that I would have to change shirts three to four times a day; Costco loved me because I eventually became their highest volume laundry detergent purchaser. One of my doctors suggested [...]
GTx announced in a company media release that it has requested that the FDA consider its new drug application (NDA) for the use of toremifene 80 mg to prevent bone fractures in men with prostate cancer receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). GTx has asked for a priority review of its application stating that “there are [...]
At the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque, New Mexico (SKS) the Department of Urology just completed a study that showed that dutasteride, the generic name for a dual 5alpha-reductase inhibitor made by GlaxoSmithKline and marketed under the name Avodart™ in the US and Avolve™ in Europe, when administered to men with [...]
FDA just approved th first gonsdotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) drug for the treatment of Advanced Prostate Cancer. This newly approved gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor antagonist demonstrates rapid, long-term suppression of testosterone. Ferring Pharmaceuticals, USA (FP) received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for degarelix, (generic name) which is a new injectable gonadotropin-releasing hormone [...]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new drug which provides relief of moderate to severe acute pain. This is great news for us, because, advanced prostate cancer often brings pain from mets and breaking bones. This newly approved drug, tapentadol hydrochloride, is delivered as an immediate-release oral tablet. It is a [...]
I had my second chemo treatment last week (Thursday) and it went so much faster with the port-a-cath (see the December 1, 2008 post “Injection Site Issues and Technology” for an explanation of a port-a-cath). As most of us who are traveling this trail will know, our veins take a regular beating from all of [...]
What is left for us once we become resistant to docetaxel (DOC) plus prednisone, which is the last FDA approved, standard of care treatment available for advanced hormone refractory prostate cancer? There has been some studies that indicate after a “vacation period” similar to what many of us do with a first line hormone blockade, [...]
I recently had a regular follow-up appointment with my rheumatologist. Over the years he has had me on various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (vioxx is one common example). My appointments with him have become fairly routine, we greet each other, he spends ten minutes scolding me because I still have not lost any weight and then [...]
