We have all been ever increasingly aware of the weakness of our scanning technologies when it comes to both diagnosing prostate cancer and its recurrence. Given that about 1/3 of all primary treatments for prostate cancer will fail and the cancer will return it is vital that we improve our ability to detect prostate cancer [...]
There are multiple definitions of biochemical recurrence for prostate cancer treatment post surgery. This causes confusion both within the patient community and the medical community. It would be very helpful if we could standardize a simple measure, PSA as the biomarker for a biochemical recurrence. Standardization post surgery would give us a better way to [...]
It is generally accepted that a complete biochemical response (BR) of a man’s PSA immediately after surgery is an indicator of optimal cancer control. Does this also hold true for men with lymph node invasion (LNI)? Researchers performed a single institution study of 319 men with prostate cancer and LNI who were treated with surgery [...]
Knowing the negative prognostic factors for successful treatment when you have a a biochemical recurrence (PSA only) of your prostate cancer is important. These factors can help you make your treatment decisions because they assist you in evaluating your possible clinical outcome. In a single institutional review of negative prognostic outcomes of salvage radiotherapy in [...]
Increasingly, we have become better informed about the possible role of psychological and spiritual interventions in the treatment of cancer, specifically for this post in men with locally advanced prostate cancer. This post is limited to just discussing the possible interventions specifically in men with a Biochemical Prostate Cancer Recurrence, commonly referred to as a [...]
Appearing in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging a recent study provides data on the long-term survival of men with a biochemical recurrence after failed surgery. In the study by Giovacchini et al. it was shown that a PET/CT scan (specifically a [11C] choline PET/CT) could predict the long-term survival of men [...]
It was announced today that preliminary results from the Phase II STAND trial demonstrates continued and what is described as a robust immune response with Provenge (sipuleucel-T) that continues two years after completing treatment in men with biochemically-recurrent prostate cancer (BRPC). This finding, along with data from the ongoing Phase IV registry PROCEED trial, are [...]
There was a recent Norwegian study which reviewed the impact of salvage external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) on post-prostatectomy patients. They evaluated long-term follow-up on biochemical-free recurrence (PSA only recurrence) (BFR) and metastatic-free survival. He study also described the pathological and clinical predictors of outcome. The study was conducted between 1987–2010. It included 76 men with [...]
Last April there was some preliminary data from the long-term Phase II STAND study presented at 29th Annual European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress that showed that sipuleucel-T (Provenge) when given after the start of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) seemed to enhance and sustain the immune response in men with a biochemical failure (PSA only) [...]
Current practice has been to immediately begin hormone therapy (ADT) as soon as a man has a bio-chemical (PSA only) relapse. A recent presentation at ASCO 2014 has shown that immediate ADT actually offers little or no survival benefit over deferred ADT to advanced prostate cancer survivors who experience a PSA only relapse after radical [...]
