Today’s New York Times had an article written by Jane Brody that discusses the painful issues surrounding the decision to stop treatment, and its negative side effects, and let a cancer survivor live their last weeks in relative peace. This is always a difficult decision as many of us wish to hold on to life, [...]
Dendreon Corporation (Nasdaq: DNDN), the company that is testing Provenge a potential vaccine for prostate cancer, has started a second of two new Phase 2 trials. The multicenter trial, called ProACT (PROstate Active Cellular Therapy), is enrolling 120 men with metastatic, androgen independent prostate cancer. The trial protocol calls for all men to receive active [...]
Life is tough enough with all of its twists and turns. We all experience hardships on our path, but we all also experience many pleasures and euphoric moments. Those of us who are under the influence of advanced prostate cancer still experience many moments of great pleasure and contentment. As a matter of fact, I [...]
Amgen just completed, with positive results, a three-year Phase 3 placebo-controlled trial which evaluated denosumab for the treatment of bone loss (reduction of bone mineral density –BMD) in men undergoing androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for non-metastatic prostate cancer. One of the more common and significant side effects of ADT is loss of BMD. This loss [...]
It is my understanding that almost 90% of men who start hormone therapy initially respond to the drugs with their PSA falling significantly. However, there are many costs associated with ADT, many of which I have already discussed in this blog. The hot flashes, bone loss, weight gain, decreased libido and erectile dysfunction are often [...]