ASCO GU has given us a number of interesting posters, some of which I have already written about in prior posts. Another of these posters (abstract 232) was about an analysis by Ruessel and colleagues describing cardiovascular events among men with prostate cancer using German claims data. The researchers, in a retrospective study, attempted to [...]
The newest gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist therapy drug, degarelix (aka Firmagon) has become more commonly used in everyday clinical practice as an alternative hormone therapy treatment drug (ADT). Given that its use has become common it is important to understand both its safety and efficacy as compared to our older standard drugs. The best way [...]
Popular culture tells us that primary androgen deprivation therapy with leuprorelin acetate (Lupron) will not work for longer than two years! This is a significant and very problematic statement given that all of us with metastatic prostate cancer rely on delaying the move to any other treatments, especially given their cost to the quality of [...]
There was a recent study to investigate the predictive value of the number of extra-spinal organs involved by metastases for survival in metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) from prostate cancer. This was a very small study of only 95 men irradiated with 10×3 Gy for MSCC from prostate cancer. The investigators considered seven factors: Age, [...]
According to a study published in the Feb. 20 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology adults with cancer can experience improvements in their emotional distress levels and in their quality of life through the use of psycho-oncologic interventions, such as relaxation, individual and group psychotherapy, and psychoeducation. Hermann Faller, M.D., Ph.D., of the University [...]
A group of investigators, interested in the influence of lycopene on both the clinical and laboratory progression of advanced prostate cancer in men with hormone refractory prostate cancer, ran a small prospective Phase II pilot study. The researchers gave lycopene supplementation (15 mg) daily for 6 months to their trial subjects. They performed follow up [...]
