There were many very interesting and very important items presented at the recent ASCO GU conference. Over the course of the next week or two I will be systematically reviewing many of these finds that have a direct impact on men with advanced prostate cancer. Today’s review is about how to create better results for [...]
An important update from the phase III PREVAIL study (Xtandi in the pre-chemotherapy stage) was released thsi evening (actually yesterday evening) in advance of a formal presentation this Thursday at ASCO GU. The news is good, no the news is great. Last November the trial of Xtandi in men with metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer [...]
One thing I have noticed at some of the support groups I run is that there seems to be a very uneven distribution of when men start taking Zoledronic Acid (ZA). Hormone therapy (ADT) has many negative side effects and the loss of bone mineral density (thinning of the bones) that ZA (and similar drugs) [...]
Men initially diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer often face a serious question, whether traditional primary treatments that would remove or make smaller their primary tumor (“debulking” the tumor) provide any advantage or extend their survival. Since the most commonly used method to debulk tumors is surgery or radiation the question becomes if the risks of [...]
According to an analysis led by the Duke Cancer Institute, tasquinimo, an investigational prostate cancer treatment slows disease progression and may also increase survival, especially among men whose cancer has spread to the bones. This study that was published on Nov. 19, 2013, in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, shows that long-term survival and safety [...]
Conversations among survivors and evidence in the literature suggests that there is a positive association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] (vitamin D3) and survival in certain types of cancer, including advanced prostate cancer. Researchers from the Cancer Treatment Centers of America investigated the relationship between survival advantage and vitamin D3 levels in [...]
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 [...]
At the recent 2013 2013 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium there was an abstract presented that updated data from the COU-AA-302 clinical trial of Abiraterone Acetate (Zytiga) with prednisone. The updated data confirms that Zytiga with prednisone improves overall survival (OS) in men with metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) post-docetaxel therapy (chemotherapy)(Lancet Oncol 2012;13:983-92). The trial [...]
In the prostate cancer world we often discuss treatment options, some approved by the FDA and some not approved. Among the treatment options bantered about are statins (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme a reductase inhibitor) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). According to the folklore both these drugs are associated with reducing the risk of prostate cancer and improved [...]
At the October 28 meeting of the American Society for Radiation the final data from the ALSYMPCA trial were presented. The trial evaluated radium-223 (Alpharedin) in men with castrate-resistant prostate cancer that had spread to the bones. Alpharedin is part of a class of drugs called alpha-particle emitters that targets bone metastases. The good news [...]
