Genitourinary Cancers

BOSTON-Short-term hormone therapy may benefit patients with localized intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer, according to three retrospective studies presented at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting.

BOSTON-Combining long-term hormone therapy with radiation therapy for locally advanced prostate cancer significantly improves local progression, disease-free survival, freedom from distant metastasis, and biochemical control, according to results of a phase III clinical trial presented at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting.

A second omnibus health-care bill-this one called the Public Health Improvement Act (H.R. 2498)-was passed quietly at the end of the 2000 session, with a prostate cancer section included. That section was originally a free-standing bill called

Over the past several years, the clinical presentation of prostate cancer has evolved so that more patients than ever before are presenting with clinically localized disease. However, a significant number of men continue to

Over the past several years, the clinical presentation of prostate cancer has evolved so that more patients than ever before are presenting with clinically localized disease. However, a significant number of men continue to

Over the past several years, the clinical presentation of prostate cancer has evolved so that more patients than ever before are presenting with clinically localized disease. However, a significant number of men continue to

NEW YORK-To help support spouses of prostate cancer patients, New York Yankees manager Joe Torre, a prostate cancer survivor, and his wife Ali are helping to launch “Two Against One: Couples Battling Prostate Cancer.” This multimedia program helps spouses become more informed about prostate cancer and empowers them to advocate for improved outcomes for their husbands.

Researchers who conducted a large, randomized clinical trial across Europe, Great Britain, and Canada found that in order to improve safety and reduce toxicity, advanced bladder cancer patients can be treated with a combination of gemcitabine (Gemzar) and cisplatin (Platinol). This combination (known as GC) did not extend survival, but it was much less toxic than the currently used combination, MVAC (methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin [Adriamycin], and cisplatin).

BETHESDA, Md-In a pilot study, 10 of 19 patients with advanced renal cell cancer had a response to nonmye-loablative allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation, reported Richard Childs, MD, of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

ATLANTA-High-intensity, focused ultrasound (HIFU) delivered through a rectal probe was highly successful at burning away localized prostate cancer, Christian Chaussy, MD, reported at the American Urological Association 2000 Annual Meeting.

PHILADELPHIA-Evidence for the role of diet in the etiology of prostate cancer is mounting and with it, the possibility that nutritional factors can help prevent the disease, Demetrius Albanes, MD, said at the annual meeting of the Society of Nutritional Oncology Adjuvant Therapy. Dr. Albanes is a senior investigator with the Cancer Prevention Studies Branch of the National Cancer Institute.

A potential new treatment under development for prostate cancer may offer clinical advantages, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association in Atlanta.

Recently, there has been much controversy over whether patients with prostate cancer should be treated with bisphosphonates not only to decrease pain, but to prevent metastasis.

Recently, there has been much controversy over whether patients with prostate cancer should be treated with bisphosphonates not only to decrease pain, but to prevent metastasis.

Recently, there has been much controversy over whether patients with prostate cancer should be treated with bisphosphonates not only to decrease pain, but to prevent metastasis.

NEW ORLEANS-In a phase II study, weekly docetaxel (Taxotere) significantly reduced bone pain and PSA levels in men with hormone-refractory prostate cancer, and these results led to enhanced quality of life. Lead investigator Tomasz Beer, MD, of Oregon Health Sciences University, reported the results at the 36th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

SAN FRANCISCO-A new study supports the hypothesis that calcium consumption is associated with a greater risk of prostate cancer. June M. Chan, ScD, Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, presented the results at the 91st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

NEW YORK-A small trial of trastuzumab (Herceptin) alone and with paclitaxel (Taxol) found that the combination was active against prostate cancer, but trastuzumab alone was not. The results were presented at the ASCO meeting by Michael J. Morris, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

PHILADELPHIA-Significant benefit can be achieved from long-term androgen suppression following neoadjuvant hormonal cytoreduction and radiotherapy in locally advanced prostate cancer.

Five-year follow-up data presented at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in Atlanta showed that the use of cryoablation as first-line treatment for prostate cancer can be as effective as radiation therapy. The five-center,

MAYWOOD, Ill-Removing the cancerous kidney before administering interferon alfa-2b (Intron A) improves survival in advanced renal cancer, according to results of Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) Trial 8949. The role of interferon treatment, however, remains controversial.

TORONTO, Canada-A multicenter phase III trial involving more than 250 prostate cancer patients confirmed earlier trials demonstrating that abarelix, a GnRH antagonist, achieved more rapid reduction of testosterone to castrate levels than leuprolide acetate (Lupron) and bicalutamide (Casodex), but did not produce a testosterone surge and clinical flare.

ASCO-Cytoreductive nephrectomy prior to interferon-alfa-2b (Intron A) therapy increased survival by 50% in patients with previously untreated metastatic renal cell cancer, compared with interferon alone, Robert Flanigan, MD, reported at the plenary session of the 36th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in New Orleans.

Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D CRT) is more effective yet costs no more than conventional radiation therapy in the long-term treatment of prostate cancer, according to a study conducted at Fox Chase Cancer Center in

Physicians have long known that male hormones fuel prostate cancer growth. That’s why therapies that block the production of androgen-or testosterone-provide some of the most effective therapies for advanced prostate cancer. Certain drugs, for

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla-Slight changes in the administration of salvage therapy after radical prostatectomy are among several revisions to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Practice Guidelines for Prostate Cancer. The revised guidelines recommend radiotherapy for men with positive margins whose prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels fail to fall to 0 ng/mL after surgery.

The results of an exploratory analysis published in the March 2000 issue of Urology suggest that prolonged combined androgen blockade (CAB) significantly increases survival in patients with advanced prostate cancer.

An estimated 180,400 new prostate cancer cases will be diagnosed in the United States this year, and many of these patients will be diagnosed and treated at community cancer centers.

Despite being one of the more common genitourinary neo plasms, superficial transitional cell carcinoma involving the urinary bladder can be a confusing entity for the treating physician. This confusion stems, in large part, from the binary classification

Baselli and Greenberg have presented a comprehensive overview of intravesical strategies for the management of superficial urothelial malignancies of the bladder, both past and present. A number of points made in the article deserve further