The Value of Evaluating Circulating Tumor Cells – Better Survival Predictions

The use of the PSA as a prostate cancer screening tool has been a controversial issue for many years. Within the last year the issue has again come to the forefront of the public awareness, especially because of the recent move of the U.S Preventative Task Force to discourage using the PSA as a screening [...]

Estrogen May Play Role in Melanoma Recurrence- A Warning for Those of Us Who Are Considering Estrogen as a Second Line ADT

According to a an article published in the January 2012 issue of Cancer Prevention Research, estrogen may play a role in Melanoma recurrences! The article described a large cohort study of women who were put on an anti-estrogen therapy. The study concluded that those women on the anti-estrogen therapy had a lower risk of melanoma. [...]

Data From Phase 3 AFFIRM Trial of MDV3100 in Advanced Prostate Cancer

We are about to finally get a more formal presentation of the great news we have all been waiting to hear. Medivation Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. announced that data from their Phase 3 AFFIRM trial, evaluating MDV3100 in men with advanced prostate cancer, will be highlighted in a late-breaking oral presentation at the upcoming [...]

Another Drug Mishap

Considering yesterday's post about the problems with fentanyl patches today's post becomes even more scarey. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made warns of opioid drug mix-up! According to the FDA pills, tablets, or caplets of Percocet and eight other opioid products packaged by Novartis for Endo Pharmaceuticals may have been mixed up, with [...]

Neurological Complications of Advanced Prostate Cancer

Rarely discussed, but very much a potential problem for men with advanced prostate cancer are neurological complications resulting from prostate cancer metastasis. Neurological complications of metastatic prostate cancer require quick treatment to minimize impact on a man, so early recognition is important. Family physicians when faced with a man complaining of low back pain or [...]

Efficacy of a Modified Androgen Blockade in Prostate Cancer Patients with Biochemical Failure

How to best treat men with a prostate cancer PSA only recurrence (biochemical recurrence) still remains controversial. Hormone therapy (ADT) using a combination of a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor and an antiandrogen without conventional gonadal androgen suppression (where testosterone levels are not suppressed) may allow control of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) with less morbidity. METHODS: In [...]

Some Interesting Epidemiological Information About Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is more prevalent in higher latitudes. This has been correlated with Vitamin D metabolism and its effect on tissue differentiation. Autopsies have shown that incidental prostate cancer is noted in 30% of men in the 6th decade of life and increases significantly through the ninth decade. These data have been reproduced in populations [...]

The Expression Of Prostatic Acid Phosphatase In Prostate Cancer Bone Metastases

One of the major causes of prostate cancer morbidity and mortality is bone metastases. Currently, when it comes to treating prostate cancer metastases we are very limited in effective therapies that actually prolong survival. Kirschenbaum A, etal (Departments of Urology and Medicine Division of Pulmonary Diseases Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Bone Diseases, Mount Sinai [...]

Hormone Therapy (ADT) Does Not Increase The Risk Of Cardiac Threats in Prostate Cancer

Again, prostate cancer confusion continues to reign. A recent study reported at the ASTRO (American Society for Radiation Oncology) conference claims that the addition of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in men with clinically localized prostate cancer was not associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. According to Jason A. Efstathiou, MD, Ph.D.l, of the Massachusetts General Hospital [...]

Hormonal Therapy (ADT) Is Associated With An Increase of Thrombotic Events

A recent article in the journal Cancer reported that there is an association for men being treated for prostate cancer with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and a risk of developing blood clots. The article, written by Edhaie et al. analyzed the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) –Medicare database to identify 154,611 men over the [...]

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