Prostate Cancer

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.

CHICAGO-Although radiotherapy has been administered after prostatectomy for decades to improve disease-free survival in men who have pathologic risk factors, its use in high-risk men who have undetectable PSA levels after prostatectomy is controversial

SAN FRANCISCO-Patients with lower PSA values after radiation therapy are more likely to be alive and free from distant metastasis 10 years later than those with higher values, according to study results presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the

SAN DIEGO--Sural nerve grafting is a new procedure that may allow prostate patients undergoing radical prostatectomy to maintain sexual potency. With limited information currently available about the procedure, the ambulatory nurse’s role in educating these patients can be critical in alleviating anxiety and stress, said Mary Schoen, RN, MSN, MPH, a clinical nurse in Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s Urology Department.

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.

NEW ORLEANS-After brachytherapy for prostate cancer, a small proportion of the radioactive seeds migrate into the lungs of more than a third of patients, according to a report from the American College of Surgeons 87th Clinical Congress.

The results of a clinical study demonstrating that exisulind (Aptosyn) slows tumor growth in men with advanced prostate cancer was published in the September 2001 issue of The Journal of Urology. The study is the first to show the significant

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).

Fenretinide (N-4-hydroxyphenyl-retinamide, or 4-HPR) is a semisynthetic retinoid that was initially developed as a low-dose chemopreventative agent.[1-3] Unlike other naturally occurring retinoids such as all-trans, 13-cis, and 9-cis retinoic acids, fenretinide does not induce systemic catabolism that interferes with the maintenance of effective plasma levels during long-term use. This characteristic, combined with the agent’s low toxicity and its ability to block aspects of carcinogenesis, provided the rationale for the development of fenretinide in lower doses as a chemoprevention agent for breast, prostate, and bladder cancer.

ANAHEIM, California-The outcome of patients with clinically localized prostate cancer can be improved with aggressive treatment, according to two large studies presented at the American Urological Association annual meeting.

A study that evaluated 76 patients, aged 48 to 62 years, who underwent prostate brachytherapy between 1995 and 1999 using either palladium-103 or iodine-125 seed implants, reported that more than 98% achieved 5-year survival.

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

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

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Community Cancer Research Consortium (part of the Southwest Oncology Group [SWOG]) have launched a major study examining the roles of vitamin E and selenium in the prevention of prostate

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

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-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-An investigational antisense oligonucleotide directed against bcl-2 appears to help overcome the resistance of hormone-refractory prostate cancer to docetaxel (Taxotere). The combination of bcl-2 antisense (G3139, Genasense) and docetaxel, therefore, may prove to be effective in this type of cancer, researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, said at the American Urological Society annual meeting (abstract 690).

EAST LANSING, Michigan-A study of 841 patients age 65 and older newly diagnosed with breast, colon, lung, or prostate cancer found three predictors of pain and fatigue: advanced stage, more comorbid conditions, and lung cancer, compared with breast cancer (the reference), according to researchers from Michigan State University.

SAN FRANCISCO-In men with localized or locally advanced prostate cancer, immediate treatment with the nonsteroidal antiandrogen bicalutamide (Casodex), alone or in addition to standard therapy, significantly reduces disease progression.

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.

SAN FRANCISCO-Patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer benefited from a regimen combining paclitaxel (Taxol) and estramustine (Emcyt, Estracyt) in two phase II trials discussed at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

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.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) inaugurated a new program in July that

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