AUA releases new guidelines for treating castration-resistant prostate cancer
May 14, 2013
Metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) remains an incurable disease, but new treatments –including immunotherapeutic, chemotherapeutic agents, anti-androgens and androgen synthesis inhibitors – may improve outcomes in certain patients, according to a new clinical guideline released today by the American Urological Association (AUA) during its 2013 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA.
Read the article. (login required)
ADT Duration for Prostate Cancer Can Be Cut in Half
March 13, 2013
Halving the time a patient with high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) is on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is safe and does not compromise outcomes, researchers concluded.
Read the article, which includes a short video.
Optimizing Therapeutic Strategies Targeting Bone: Prostate Cancer
February 12, 2013
Evan Y. Yu, MD describes his clinical approach to the treatment patients with bone metastases secondary to prostate cancer.
Metformin and prostate cancer: Reduced development of castration-resistant disease and prostate cancer mortality
February 1, 2013
In vitro data and early clinical results suggest that metformin has desirable antineoplastic effects and has a theoretical benefit on castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).
Recent Developments in Treatments for Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer—A Mechanistic Perspective
February 1, 2013
Abstract
Over the past decade, the treatment landscape in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) has markedly changed, with the introduction of three new chemotherapeutic agents. The mechanism of CRPC is not fully understood, but it may result from multiple pathways, including a loss or androgen receptor (AR) specificity and increased downstream signalling activity that provide multiple targets for therapeutic agents. For some years, docetaxel was the mainstay of treatment in CRPC, but recently, cabazitaxel (a microtubule inhibitor), sipuleucel-T (a cancer vaccine), and abiraterone acetate (a CYP17 inhibitor) were approved for CRPC treatment. In Phase III clinical trials, these agents have shown significant improvements in survival—over mitoxantrone (for cabazitaxel) and over placebo (for sipuleucel-T and abiraterone acetate)—and were well tolerated. There are also two treatments in late-stage development, MDV3100 (an oral AR antagonist) and radium-223 (an isotope that creates breaks in double-stranded DNA). These have also shown improvements in survival in Phase III trials; their regulatory approval is expected soon. The modes of actions of the existing and new drugs in CRPC are varied, but some are complementary and investigations of different combinations of these medications are much needed; they may enhance efficacy, further extend survival, and improve outcomes in this formerly untreatable disease.
Antioxidants the Enemy in Cancer Treatment
January 14, 2013
Antioxidants may undermine metastatic cancer treatment and even contribute to its development, according to a hypothesis laid out by James D. Watson, PhD, who shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA.
Antioxidants neutralize DNA- and RNA-damaging reactive oxygen species that would otherwise trigger apoptosis, Watson explained in an article online in Open Biology.
Although that balance is helpful under normal conditions, the vast majority of cancer treatments — radiotherapy, most chemotherapy, and some targeted therapies — rely directly or indirectly on reactive oxygen species to block key steps in the cell cycle and thus kill cancer cells.
Radium-223 Extends Survival in CRPC
November 30, 2012
Men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) lived significantly longer when treated with a bone-targeted, alpha-emitting agent, a randomized trial showed.
Our Voice Magazine – 2012 Sept.
September 28, 2012
Check out the latest Our Voice.
From the current issue
- Get moving!
Exercise can combat treatment side effects and improve quality of life
-
PSA stands for Power, Strength, Agility
-
A Saskatoon program helps men communicate their treatment preferences and values
-
Focused support groups could help gay men open up about prostate cancer
Plus News and updates
Patients Could Benefit from Intermittent Hormone Therapy
September 12, 2012
A standard treatment for prostate cancer may change as a result of a new Canadian study that supports “drug holidays” for patients receiving hormone therapy.
Read More in the Globe and Mail
For a more technical article, click here.
Enzalutamide Ups Survival in Metastatic Prostate Cancer
September 4, 2012
Results of the phase III AFFIRM trial show that enzalutamide significantly prolonged survival of men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer after chemotherapy. The results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Men randomized to enzalutamide (MDV3100) had a median overall survival of 18.4 months compared to 13.6 months in the placebo group (P < .001). The median duration of patient follow-up was 14.4 months.