Prostate Cancer

PHOENIX-A self-administered questionnaire that measures patients’ sexual problems after radiation therapy for prostate cancer has now been validated and could provide a means of standardizing reports of sexual dysfunction after prostate cancer treatment.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) will sponsor phase III trials to test the efficacy of AE-941/Neovastat, an angiogenesis inhibitor developed by AEterna Laboratories Inc., a Canadian biotechnology corporation, in the treatment of cancer.

PHOENIX-Updated results from RTOG 86-10 show a continuing trend for improved overall survival among patients with locally advanced prostate cancer who received androgen ablation in addition to radiation therapy, compared with those receiving radiation therapy alone, Miljenko V. Pilepich, MD, reported at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO).

ATHENS-In patients with advanced or inoperable prostate cancer, intermittent androgen suppression shows promise as an equally effective, less toxic, and cheaper alternative to continuous hormone blockade, Dr. Sergio Bracarda, of Perugia University (Italy), said at the 23rd Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO).

Higher doses of radiation, delivered through three-dimensional (3D) conformal therapy, have produced far fewer side effects than expected, according to a national, multicenter clinical trial conducted by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group

Determination of the percentage of free prostate specific antigen (PSA) via a simple blood test improves the diagnosis of prostate cancer and may limit the need for biopsies, according to two studies published in the September issue of Urology.

PHOENIX-For many men with early-stage prostate cancer, the choice between external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy (seed implantation) can be made based solely on lifestyle issues and personal preference, according to results of a study reported at the 40th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.

BETHESDA, Md--Citing "an unprecedented opportunity to make substantial strides in the treatment of prostate cancer," an outside panel has urged the National Cancer Institute to increase funding and broaden efforts to understand and defeat the second leading cause of cancer deaths among US men.

AMELIA ISLAND, Fla--Is brachy-therapy for prostate cancer a ‘gimmick’ or a new treatment technique with numerous advantages over either radical prostatectomy or external beam radiotherapy? Very definitely the latter, Jay Friedland, MD, of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, said at the Southern Association for Oncology (SAO) 11th annual meeting.

In a study of the protein p27, researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have confirmed the existence of at

BETHESDA, Md--The reports of the progress review groups on prostate and breast cancers present the National Cancer Institute (NCI) with both opportunities and challenges, director Richard D. Klausner, MD, told the National Cancer Advisory Board.

The optimal management of patients with lymph node-positive prostate cancer remains controversial. The role of pelvic irradiation in patients at high risk for nodal involvement continues to be debated. Studies of prostate

BETHESDA, Md--The Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee (ODAC) has voted not to recommend that the Food and Drug Administration approve Metaret (suramin hexasodium for injection, Parke-Davis) for the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

The optimal management of patients with lymph node-positive prostate cancer remains controversial. The role of pelvic irradiation in patients at high risk for nodal involvement continues to be debated. Studies of prostate

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, with an estimated 200,000 new cases diagnosed in 1998.[1] Compared with white men, African-American men have a 66% higher incidence of prostate cancer and mortality rates twice as high.[1]

The optimal management of patients with lymph node-positive prostate cancer remains controversial. The role of pelvic irradiation in patients at high risk for nodal involvement continues to be debated. Studies of prostate

STRATFORD, Connecticut--Several studies have shown the ability of the percent-free PSA blood test to help differentiate benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) from prostate cancer among men with elevated PSA levels and thus reduce the need for prostate biopsy. Now, two studies in the September issue of Urology have further defined the situations in which percent-free PSA may be used to improve the performance of total PSA level results.

PRINCETON, NJ--Cytogen Corporation is sponsoring a new website on prostate cancer that highlights its diagnostic imaging agent ProstaScint. The agent is used in newly diagnosed patients at high risk for metastases and in postprostatectomy patients with a high suspicion of recurrence or spread.

WILMINGTON, Delaware--Zeneca Pharmaceuticals has received FDA approval to market Zoladex (goserelin acetate implant) for use in combination with the antiandrogen flutamide (Eulexin) prior to and during radiation therapy for the management of early-stage prostate cancer (stages B2-C).

ANN ARBOR, Michigan--Prostate cancer patients are increasingly likely to ask their physicians about alternative (or complementary) therapies, and physicians need to know the evidence, or lack of evidence, supporting their use.

A team of molecular biologists have located a genetic switch in prostate cancer cells that may play a role in triggering a quiescent tumor to erupt into an invasive, deadly cancer.

TORONTO--Preliminary data on patients with rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels after radical prosta-tectomy suggest that ProstaScint scin-tigraphy may offer a way to identify patients most likely to benefit from radiation therapy. ProstaScint (capromab pendetide) is an indium-111-labeled murine monoclonal antibody diagnostic agent that attaches to the prostate-specific membrane antigen.

LOS ANGELES--Early use of combination chemotherapy may have a role in the treatment of poor-prognosis, androgen-dependent prostate cancer, as well as androgen-independent patients, preliminary results from an ongoing study suggest. Evidence of anticancer activity has been seen in several patients treated with the combination of paclitaxel (Taxol), estramustine (Emcyt), and carboplatin (Paraplatin), William Kelly, DO, reported at the ASCO meeting.

ANN ARBOR, Michigan--The addition of androgen ablation to radiation therapy led to significant improvement in the rate of local failure, distant failure, and disease-free survival, but not overall survival, in men with large-volume, low-grade, locally advanced prostate cancer.

In order for the immune system to protect against cancer, it must recognize tumors as "non-self." Markers present on the surface of tumors, known as antigens, allow the immune system to recognize tumors as non-self. However, in order for the

ANN ARBOR, Michigan--The typical candidate for radical prostatectomy does at least as well with three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiation therapy for early-stage prostate cancer, results of a University of Michigan study suggest. Findings in 172 consecutively treated patients showed a 95% actuarial survival 8 years after radiation therapy and an 85% rate of freedom from biochemical failure.

LOS ANGELES--Combined therapy with suramin and hydrocortisone significantly improved palliation over placebo plus hydrocortisone in hormone-refractory prostate cancer. The palliative improvement emerged within 6 weeks, and the difference between the regimens increased to the end of therapy, Eric Small, MD, reported at the ASCO integrated symposium on prostate cancer.

LOS ANGELES--Preliminary results with a gene-therapy approach to recurrent prostate cancer suggest antitumor activity in at least some patients. Three of 18 patients have had decreases in PSA levels of more than 50%. The effects have persisted for 45 to 290 days, including one patient who became biopsy negative for a brief period of time.

QUEBEC CITY--For the first time, a randomized clinical trial of screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been performed and shown to reduce the risk of prostate cancer mortality.

NEW ORLEANS-A technique for rallying a prostate cancer patient’s antitumor response helps some patients without harming quality of life, Michael L. Salgaller, PhD, head of the immunothera-peutics division at Northwest Biother-apeutics, Seattle, reported at the 89th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).