How Reliable Are On-line Medical Resources When Discussing Hormone Therapy (ADT)?

My friend and colleague, Richard Wassersug published an article on April 4, 2013 on the on-line service, Uro-Today.com, about the lack of reliability on internet sites when they discuss hormone therapy. Dr. Wassersug is a Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at Dalhousie University, Canada. His research interests include the Psychosocial impact of [...]

A Magic Bullet To Cure Cancer – Sorry, Not Yet – But Who Knows

So, you say that there is a magic bullet! A drug that will cure all types of cancer! Come on, lets get real, NO, it is not true, At Least Not Yet. I don’t usually comment on early stage (animal model) research because we simply are not rats, zebra fish, dogs or monkeys. This, I [...]

Understanding & Using Estrogen as Hormone Therapy (ADT)

An alternative to standard hormone therapy (ADT) using luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) analogs like leuprolide (Lupron®, Eligard®), goserelin (Zoladex®), triptorelin (Trelstar®), and histrelin (Vantas®) for men with advanced prostate cancer, but often not used is estradiol (a form of estrogen). When estrogens were first used as a therapy for men with advanced prostate cancer they [...]

Psycho-Oncologic Interventions May Improve Patients’ Distress and Quality of Life

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 [...]

FROM THE 2013 ASCO GU CONFERENCE –CHEMOTHERAPY AND THE USE ANTICOAGULANTS INCREASE PROSTATE CANCER SURVIVAL RATES

Another interesting research abstract presented at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in Orlando Florida this month found that men with prostate cancer who were on chemotherapy who had also received anticoagulant (blood-thinners) medications experienced improved overall survival rates compared to men who did not take anticoagulants drugs. This retrospective study involved the reviewed of the medical [...]

Two More Provenge Related Abstracts from the 2013 ASCO GU Symposium

More on Sipuleucel-T (Provenge) from the 2013 The last two abstracts that I want to speak about that were presented at the conference that pertained to Provenge speak to its efficacy. The first looks at changes in circulating tumor cells (CTC) and the second to the onset of the use of opioid painkillers. Abstract #40 [...]

From the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary Cancers Symposium – News of Provenge

Currently in Orlando Florida the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary Cancers Symposium is in progress. There are a number of very interesting abstracts that pertain to those of us who have advanced prostate cancer. In the course of the next few days I will be reviewing a number of these that I [...]

Researchers Find Consistent Epigenetic ‘Signatures’ In Prostate Cancer Patients’ Who Have Metastases

Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center found in a genome-wide analysis of 13 men with metastatic prostate cancer that there were consistent epigenetic "signatures" or “marks” across all metastatic tumors in each of the subject men. The discovery contradicts the current belief that epigenetic marks that sit on the nuclear DNA of cancer [...]

When to Start, Sequencing and the Co-Administration of Provenge and Zytiga

I have said many times that one of the more important issues facing our use of Provenge is when to start it and how to sequence this treatment with the other newly approved agents that have recently become available for men with advanced prostate cancer. There is occasional conversation that Provenge is already antiquated due [...]

Should we be Using Provenge Earlier Than We Currently Do?

Sipuleucel-T (Provenge) is FDA approved after a man becomes castrate resistant. In clinical trials it has shown that it extends life when compared to placebo. The use of Provenge has raised many questions, the two most common ones are why PSA and disease progression continues while receiving this treatment (see post at for an explanation) [...]

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