Genitourinary Cancers

A study conducted by researchers at Duke University and Johns Hopkins Medical Centers and published in the journal Cancer (94:987-996) found that the use of indium-111-capromab pendetide (ProstaScint), a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody imaging agent, allowed identification of recurrent prostate cancer earlier than conventional imaging methods, such as the computed tomography (CT) scan. Prostate cancer recurs in nearly 40% of patients, and about 11% are at high risk for metastatic spread of the disease. Conventional imaging methods are often only able to detect a more advanced stage of prostate cancer.

NEW YORK-The final report of a phase II study suggests that the early addition of 13-cis-retinoic acid (isotretinoin, Acutane) to hormone therapy may enhance PSA responses in advanced androgen-dependent prostate cancer. Anna C. Ferrari, MD, of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York, presented the results at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XIX (abstract 58).

Docetaxel (Taxotere)-based regimens can be included among the most effective treatment options for the management of patients with advanced, androgen-independent prostate cancer. Results with docetaxel as a single agent and in combination regimens with estramustine (Emcyt) have consistently achieved a palliative response, reduced serum PSA levels by 50% or more, and produced objective responses in patients with measurable disease. In addition, encouraging survival data have been demonstrated in several phase II trials.

Men underestimate their chance of developing prostate cancer even when they are considered "at risk" for the disease, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. The findings were

WASHINGTON-Twice as many black as white men prefer not to know that they have prostate cancer, and two thirds believe that it is a "death sentence" with a treatment "worse than the disease," according to a study reported by Allyson Schifano, MPH, CHES, at the 8th Biennial Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Underserved, and Cancer.

I read with interest the article by Hanks and colleagues-and the reviews that followed-on the evidence for cure in prostate cancer.

WASHINGTON-Surgeons have historically had a "feeling that black men are at the highest risk" of bad outcomes in prostate cancer, said Christopher R. Porter, MD, professor of urology, Stony Brook Hospital Medical Center, Stony Brook, New York. Their risk of dying from the disease is twice that of white men, and their risk of developing it is 1.7 times higher.

WASHINGTON-Black men historically have some of the world’s worst rates of prostate cancer incidence and mortality, with prognostic features significantly worse than those of white Americans.

The use of complementary and alternative medicine is a well-known phenomenon among cancer patients, and prostate cancer patients are no exception. The review article by Drs. Das and Kaplan nicely summarizes most of the data available on the use of PC-SPES, selenium, and vitamin E by prostate cancer patients. These three agents are probably the most widely used complementary approaches in prostate cancer, and they are the ones that have been studied most extensively. However, true data on efficacy, careful toxicity analyses, dose-response analysis, or pharmacokinetic analyses of these agents are extremely limited.

Prostate cancer patients commonly use complementary and alternative medications. There has been growing interest in recent years in the role of the herbal medication PC-SPES and the essential nutrients selenium and vitamin E in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. This article reviews the preclinical and clinical studies of these therapies.

Prostate cancer has been the most common visceral malignancy in American men for the last decade. The estimated lifetime risk of the disease in the United States is 16.6% for white men and 18.1% for African-American men, with a lifetime risk of death of 3.5% and 4.3%, respectively.[1] Recently, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) reported that the overall cancer mortality rate decreased between 1990 and 1997, including a reduction of approximately 6% in prostate cancer mortality.[1] Furthermore, Tarone et al reported that the mortality rate for prostate cancer among white men in the United States declined to a level lower than that reported prior to the introduction of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening in 1987.[2]

SAN FRANCISCO-Sildenafil (Viagra) is highly effective in improving erectile function in prostate cancer patients following three-dimensional (3D) conformal external radiotherapy, according to a study presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the

SAN FRANCISCO-Radiotherapy dose escalation is critical to improving survival in some patients with prostate cancer, according to a study presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (abstract 247). In the study, patients were followed for 8 to 12 years after treatment.

ROCKVILLE, Maryland-The website for the Center for Prostate Disease Research (CPDR) has a whole new look. Stephen Doyle, an experienced graphic artist, has updated and redesigned the site to be a user-friendly tool for patients, clinicians, scientists, and the general public to find information about prostate cancer and related diseases.

SAN FRANCISCO-Whole-field radiotherapy improves progression-free survival in prostate cancer patients who have a 15% or greater risk of lymph node involvement, compared with prostate-only radiotherapy, according to a study presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (plenary 5).

Conventional histopathologic evaluation of bladder cancer, encompassing tumor grade and stage, is inadequate to accurately predict the behavior of most bladder tumors. Intense research efforts are under way to identify and

ANAHEIM, California-A phase III Intergroup trial has provided strong evidence that neoadjuvant MVAC-methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), cisplatin (Platinol)-provides a survival benefit in patients with locally advanced bladder cancer, David Crawford, MD, said at the American Urological Association (AUA) annual meeting (abstract 1069).

Clinical applications of image-based radiation therapy for the study of prostate cancer have expanded significantly over the past years. The results of recent studies of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with magnetic

Clinical applications of image-based radiation therapy for the study of prostate cancer have expanded significantly over the past years. The results of recent studies of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with magnetic

Conventional histopathologic evaluation of bladder cancer, encompassing tumor grade and stage, is inadequate to accurately predict the behavior of most bladder tumors. Intense research efforts are under way to identify and

Clinical applications of image-based radiation therapy for the study of prostate cancer have expanded significantly over the past years. The results of recent studies of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with magnetic

Conventional histopathologic evaluation of bladder cancer, encompassing tumor grade and stage, is inadequate to accurately predict the behavior of most bladder tumors. Intense research efforts are under way to identify and

Clinical applications of image-based radiation therapy for the study of prostate cancer have expanded significantly over the past years. The results of recent studies of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with magnetic

Conventional histopathologic evaluation of bladder cancer, encompassing tumor grade and stage, is inadequate to accurately predict the behavior of most bladder tumors. Intense research efforts are under way to identify and

ANAHEIM, California-In hormone-refractory prostate cancer patients, bisphosphonates can relieve painful skeletal metastases, according to a study presented at the American Urological Association annual meeting (abstract 691).

ANAHEIM, California-In patients with superficial bladder cancer, it is possible to optimize treatment with mitomycin (Mutamycin) by enhancing the drug concentration in urine, according to the results of a multicenter study presented at the American Urological Association annual meeting (abstract 776).

ANAHEIM, California-Prostate cancer can now be added to the list of malignancies for which nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs) may have a protective effect, according to experimental and clinical research presented at the American Urological Association annual meeting.

ANAHEIM, California-The timing of androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer may well affect disease-specific survival, according to two studies presented at the American Urological Association annual meeting.

BETHESDA, Maryland-Researchers have begun accruing 32,400 men for a long-term prostate cancer study that will test whether selenium and/or vitamin E can prevent the disease. The Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) will coordinate the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Trial (SELECT) at more than 400 sites in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Participants will be followed for up to 12 years.

Most men diagnosed with prostate cancer are more than 65 years of age. Therefore, a discussion of the issues surrounding the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of prostate cancer in older men is, in many ways, a review of