When I was first diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer one of the first questions that I asked my doctor was whether it made sense for me to start chemotherapy immediately. I very clearly remember him telling me that there was absolutely no evidence that starting chemotherapy at this early stage would do anything to extend [...]
Those of us with advanced prostate cancer who have used hormone therapy (ADT) often find that we are plagued with hot flashes that are detrimental to our quality of life (QOL). I believe that hot flashes are the most common side effect complained about by men who are on ADT, in the scheme of seriousness [...]
Based on six recent retrospective analyses comparing the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist degarelix against the traditional luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists (i.e. Zoladex, Lupron etc.) men with advanced prostate cancer experienced improved disease control, fewer instances of urinary infections, and a lower risk of cardiovascular events. The six analyses compared data from randomized trials that [...]
Enzalutamide (Xtandi) monotherapy induced striking declines in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in a majority of patients with hormone-naive prostate cancer in a phase II trial, and this oral agent appears to have little effect on bone mineral density. If these findings are confirmed in a phase III trial, then enzalutamide may be an alternative to androgen [...]
All of us on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) know that without testosterone our bodies change and we will develop insulin resistance, the precursor to diabetes. In a just very small, just published study investigators examined if endurance training would improve insulin sensitivity and body composition in men being treated with ADT for their advanced prostate [...]
Many of us believe that prostate cancer is one specific disease, however this is not true. In fact we now know that there are at least twenty-three different types off prostate cancer. The most common types of prostate cancer, or ninety-five percent of them are referred to as adenocarcinomas. One of the least common types [...]
Sequencing of the various new advanced prostate cancer treatments remains a hot topic in our community. What treatment should come first and will the combination of various treatments be even more effective? These types of questions are constantly buzzing around us and they will continue to as long as we develop new treatments. The only [...]
The Journal of Clinical Oncology, published an article by Niraula et al. that searched the general literature published through August 2012. They searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, as well as most major conference proceedings. Their criteria for inclusion included randomized, controlled trials of intermittent hormone therapy (IADT) as compared to continuous hormone therapy (CADT) [...]
GTx Inc. had a poster honored as one of the best posters at the 28th Annual European Association of Urology Congress held in Milan Italy March 15 2013. The poster presentation which had the very long title of “GTx-758 an ERa Agonist Reduces Serum Free Testosterone Lower than can be Achieved by Leuprolide with a [...]
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 [...]
