Prostate Cancer

LOS ANGELES — The prostate cancer program at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and UCLA Health has been awarded an $8.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute. The Specialized Program of Research Excellence grant will support the development of new and innovative approaches for improving the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of prostate cancer. The 2019 designation recognizes UCLA’s prostate cancer program as one of the best in the country and marks the fourth time it will receive the five- year cycle of funding, according to the university. The program is one of only eight such current programs and the only one to be awarded the designation in the state of California. “For the past 15 years, the SPORE grant has played a pivotal role in bringing a sense of cohesiveness to our program,” said the principal investigator of the grant, Dr. Robert Reiter, a professor of urology and director of the UCLA Prostate Cancer Program. “It funds projects that include research...

LOS ANGELES — The prostate cancer program at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and UCLA Health has been awarded an $8.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute. The Specialized Program of Research Excellence grant will support the development of new and innovative approaches for improving the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of prostate cancer. The 2019 designation recognizes UCLA’s prostate cancer program as one of the best in the country and marks the fourth time it will receive the five- year cycle of funding, according to the university. The program is one of only eight such current programs and the only one to be awarded the designation in the state of California. “For the past 15 years, the SPORE grant has played a pivotal role in bringing a sense of cohesiveness to our program,” said the principal investigator of the grant, Dr. Robert Reiter, a professor of urology and director of the UCLA Prostate Cancer Program. “It funds projects that include research...

LOS ANGELES — The prostate cancer program at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and UCLA Health has been awarded an $8.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute. The Specialized Program of Research Excellence grant will support the development of new and innovative approaches for improving the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of prostate cancer. The 2019 designation recognizes UCLA’s prostate cancer program as one of the best in the country and marks the fourth time it will receive the five- year cycle of funding, according to the university. The program is one of only eight such current programs and the only one to be awarded the designation in the state of California. “For the past 15 years, the SPORE grant has played a pivotal role in bringing a sense of cohesiveness to our program,” said the principal investigator of the grant, Dr. Robert Reiter, a professor of urology and director of the UCLA Prostate Cancer Program. “It funds projects that include research...

After their successful visit last year, FC Prostata from Denmark once again enjoyed the hospitality of East Algarve Walking Football (EAWF) at sessions in Olhão and Tavira. The visitors, who have all recovered from prostate cancer, enjoyed the friendly challenge and lively banter that has further cemented the bonds of friendship between the two groups. The recent diabetes checks of blood sugar levels among some 60 players, officials and members of the public came up with some unexpected results. Peter Diprose of Algarve Health and Social Care said: “A quarter of those tested were close to or outside the safe limits and we have advised them to consult their medical practitioners.” EAWF will continue to raise awareness of health issues and take steps to ensure that the physical and social benefits of walking football are dovetailed into a programme of health tests for those who wish to participate. www.walkingfootballalgarve.com Photo: FC Prostata (Copenhagen, Denmark) and EAWF Ta...

The use of adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) after radical prostatectomy (RP) is very limited in prostate cancer patients mainly due to concerns for worsening of functional outcomes with early delivery of RT. We sought to test the impact of timing between RP and RT on adverse events rate. Using the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 9601 trial cohort, we performed post hoc analysis of 760 men with biochemical recurrence after RP, who received subsequent RT. Bowel adverse events (rectal urgency, diarrhea, and hematochezia); bladder adverse events (urinary frequency, dysuria, hematuria, and incontinence); and new onset of erectile dysfunction were documented as acute (<90 days after starting RT) or chronic, at each visit, per trial protocol. Regression analysis tested the impact of time between RP and RT on the aforementioned adverse events, after adjusting for potential confounders. The rate of acute bladder, acute bowel, late bladder, late bowel, and late impotence adverse events wa...

The purpose of this study was to investigate adherence to recommended adjuvant radiotherapy (aRT) in radical prostatectomy (RP) patients with adverse pathologic features and to analyse the outcome of patients who followed or denied this recommendation. We included 1140 consecutive RP patients (2006-2015) with non-organ confined (pT3) prostate cancer and either positive surgical margins (R1) and/or lymph node involvement (pN1) and non-detectable postoperative prostate-specific antigen who received multidisciplinary aRT recommendations. Patients were stratified into adherence versus non-adherence to recommendations. Additionally, subgroups within pathologic criteria (pT3R1N0, pT3R0N1, pT3R1N1) were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier, as well as multivariable Cox regression analyses were used to assess biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survival, metastasis-free survival, cancer-specific survival, and overall survival. Overall, 508 (44.6%) patients were non-adherent. Of those, 273 (53.6%) did not re...

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) (UroToday.com) The topic of Part II of the Society of Urologic Robotic Surgeons (SURS) was prostate and bladder surgery. Dr. Ali Abdel-Raheem opened the session by discussing robotic radical prostatectomy tips for good functional outcomes. He overviewed preservation techniques and their effects on continence and potency. Preserving the neurovascular bundle is important in this matter. There is landmark vasculature, such as the landmark artery on the lateral border of the prostate (“prostatic or capsular artery”) and veins on the lateral aspect of the prostate. General principles of preservation are cautery-free dissection, pinpointed low-energy cauterization (<30 W), no neurovascular bundle counter-traction, sharp dissection, and negative surgical margins. The Veil of Aphrodite technique of high anterior release and lateral prostatic fascia preservation had promising results in the Vattikuti Institute’s report of their experience. Dr. Ashutosh T...

During the 2019 Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference, one expert discussed three clinical trials and the future of genetic testing in patients with the disease.   In recent years, germline testing in prostate cancer has grown in significance. How does it play a role in improving cancer detection? And, can it affect treatment plans? During the 2019 Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference: Implementation of Genetic Testing for Inherited Prostate Cancer, Dr. Thomas J. Polascik, a urologic oncologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, spoke with CURE® about the considerations for germline testing in this disease space. CURE® : Can you give a brief overview of your presentation? Polascik: I overviewed some of the screening trials for genetics and, most importantly, how we’ve developed a PSA screening initiative for prostate cancer at our university. This is an algorithm that was developed in a multidisciplinary fashion based upon best available evidence and then we deploy...

[embedded content] James Mohler, MD, professor of oncology, associate director, senior vice president, Translational Research, chief, Inter-Institutional Academics, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses what information should be included in a family history, based on the updated National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines for genetic testing in prostate cancer.    In the past, family histories have been limited, explains Mohler. A typical history in an electronic health record would express a positive or negative history, and potentially what relative had cancer, says Mohler.   However, if the patient’s relative had cancer, the family history should include the relative’s age of diagnosis, treatment received, whether they presented with or developed metastatic disease, and if they died from the disease, says Mohler. Moreover, the updated criteria also recommend including h...

He’ll take “awareness” for $1,000. “Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek drew on his personal experience with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in a new public-service announcement, urging the public to learn more about the disease and raise awareness ahead of World Pancreatic Cancer Day on Nov. 21. “In order to help patients fight and survive this disease, more attention and awareness are needed,” Trebek, 79, said in a one-minute video spot in support of the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition. “I wish I had known sooner that the persistent stomach pain I experienced prior to my diagnosis was a symptom of pancreatic cancer.” He listed many of the possible symptoms, including mid-back pain, unexplained weight loss, new-onset diabetes and yellowing of the skin or eyes. Other potential symptoms include depression, fatigue, blood clots and appetite loss, according to the Mayo Clinic . Pancreatic cancer, which is projected to kill about 45,750 Americans this year, is the third deadliest cancer in the U....

During the 2019 Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference, one expert discussed three clinical trials and the future of genetic testing in patients with the disease.   In recent years, germline testing in prostate cancer has grown in significance. How does it play a role in improving cancer detection? And, can it affect treatment plans? During the 2019 Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference: Implementation of Genetic Testing for Inherited Prostate Cancer, Dr. Thomas J. Polascik, a urologic oncologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, spoke with CURE® about the considerations for germline testing in this disease space. CURE® : Can you give a brief overview of your presentation? Polascik: I overviewed some of the screening trials for genetics and, most importantly, how we’ve developed a PSA screening initiative for prostate cancer at our university. This is an algorithm that was developed in a multidisciplinary fashion based upon best available evidence and then we deploy...

[embedded content] Transcript:  Dan George, MD: Bertrand, any other thoughts on this space with early localized disease? Bertrand Tombal, MD, PhD: That’s a space that we urologists know very well. We’ve been giving hormones for 20 years, and there is a subgroup of patients we don’t pay enough attention to. These are the patients who had previous cardiovascular history—those who have experienced myocardial infarction, have a stent, had a stroke. I would say within 2 years there has been a whole lot of information about these patients, and several of observations have to be made. The first 1 is if you don’t take care of this properly, you can have up to 1 patient of 3 who is going to present a new cardiovascular event. It’s been confirmed with ABI [abiraterone] and ENZA [enzalutamide] as well. So you shouldn’t treat these patients the same way. From a basic science perspective, we have learned a lot that cardiomyocytes and lymphocytes in the heart do express FSH [follicle-stimu...

During the 2019 Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference, one expert discussed three clinical trials and the future of genetic testing in patients with the disease.   In recent years, germline testing in prostate cancer has grown in significance. How does it play a role in improving cancer detection? And, can it affect treatment plans? During the 2019 Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference: Implementation of Genetic Testing for Inherited Prostate Cancer, Dr. Thomas J. Polascik, a urologic oncologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, spoke with CURE® about the considerations for germline testing in this disease space. CURE® : Can you give a brief overview of your presentation? Polascik: I overviewed some of the screening trials for genetics and, most importantly, how we’ve developed a PSA screening initiative for prostate cancer at our university. This is an algorithm that was developed in a multidisciplinary fashion based upon best available evidence and then we deploy...

IMAGE:  Dr. Glenn Bauman, Scientist at Lawson Health Research Institute and Radiation Oncologist at London Health Sciences Centre. view more  Credit: Lawson Health Research Institute LONDON, ON - Led by researchers at Lawson Health Research Institute, a multi-centre registry trial is testing the use of a new imaging tracer, called a PSMA tracer, for early detection of recurrent prostate cancer. The registry gives patients access to a new type of imaging and will assess the impact on patient care. PSMA tracers are used in positron emission tomography (PET) scans to target a protein found in prostate cancer cells called prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA). Supported by Cancer Care Ontario and McMaster University's Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC), the goal of the registry trial is to capture detailed PET images to guide treatment decisions made by patients and their care teams. The trial is providing valuable insights to research partici...

In September, UCSF Radiology hosted a Live Twitter chat on prostate cancer - advances in diagnosis and treatment and what the community wants to know. The event coincided with Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and followed a successful event cohosted with UCSF Urology that gathered an elite group of experts on prostate health to join in conversation with an interested audience. Twitter Chats are a great way to amplify and continue the great conversation following an event, as well as promoting awareness of important health topics to a larger, online, engaged audience. We invite you to see the online capture of our conversation by visiting #UCSFRadChat . Overall, participation in the chat was strong with 39 total contributors tweeting before, during and after the live Twitter chat. Thanks to the generous support and participation of UCSF colleagues and community members active on Twitter, the potential number of viewers who could have seen the hashtag for this was 197,654. We estimate t...

The article "Temporal changes in survival in men with de novo metastatic prostate cancer: Nationwide population-based study," describes the survival of patients with de novo metastatic prostate cancer in the period 1998 – 2016 in the National Prostate Cancer Register (NPCR) of Sweden. Between the period 1998 – 2001 and 2010 – 2015, median survival increased among all men by six months. The largest increase, 14 months, was seen among men aged 60 – 69. Improved survival over time was due to prolonged lead time related to a lesser tumor burden at diagnosis reflected by the decreased median PSA at diagnosis that decreased by nearly 50%, from 181 ng/mL in 1998 to 98 ng/ml in 2015. The study also suggested that the increased use of chemotherapy from 2004 and ahead might have contributed to the increased survival. The contribution of chemotherapy to survival is, however, difficult to assess since NPCR until recently only registered primary therapy, which for these men was androgen...

False positives, over-diagnosis and a stable mortality rate raise doubts about this kind of screening for healthy men. Get ready. Come November, men will start growing out their moustaches. The stated goal is simple. They want to raise awareness about prostate cancer and want to encourage men to get their PSA level checked. But some people (generally the women who have to look at the men with moustaches) are not fans of the moustaches and feel they are unnecessary. Ironically, the PSA screening may be unnecessary too. Prostate specific antigen, or PSA, is a protein produced by cells in the prostate. Measuring PSA levels became widespread in the late 1980s as a way to detect early stage prostate cancer. In one sense, the test was very successful. The number of new prostate cancer diagnoses per year rose sharply after PSA screening started. But in another sense, PSA screening failed to do something that was even more important. While new cancer diagnoses went up, cancer deaths ...

medwireNews : A one-off post-hoc analysis of the GETUG-AFU 16 study has confirmed the long-term benefit of adding short-term androgen suppression to radiotherapy for salvage treatment in patients with increasing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentration after radical prostatectomy. The study originally found that, at 5 years, significantly more patients who received radiotherapy plus the luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist (LHRHa) goserelin (10.8 mg on day 1 of irradiation and again 3 months later; n=369) were free of biochemical or clinical progression compared with those who received radiotherapy alone (n=374), at 80% versus 62%. Advertisement All of the men included in the phase III trial had an ECOG performance status of 0 or 1, stage pT2, T3, or T4a (bladder neck involvement only) and pN0 or pNx prostate cancer, and a PSA concentration that increased from 0.1 ng/mL to between 0.2 ng/mL and 2.0 ng/mL after radical prostatectomy, wi...

To investigate potential preoperative predictors of urethral or apical positive surgical margin (PSM) and the value of apical prostate biopsy in predicting urethral/apical margin status after radical prostatectomy (RP). A total of 531 patients who underwent RP during 2010 to 2017 at West China Hospital were enrolled in this retrospective study. Preoperative and postoperative factors including age, BMI, PSA, clinical T stage and biopsy Gleason score were analyzed. Univariate analysis and logistic regression were used to find out the potential predictive factors for PSM. Two logistic regression models were built to evaluate the role of apical prostate biopsy in predicting urethral/apical margin status. The overall PSM rate was about 30.1% (160/531) and 97 of them were reported urethral/apical PSM. The incidence of urethral or apical PSM in patients with positive cores in the apical prostate was higher than those without (23.0% vs 9.9%, P < .001). We further found that the multivaria...

Testosterone is the primary male hormone, and plays an important role in establishing and maintaining typical male characteristics, such as body hair growth, muscle mass, sexual desire, and erectile function, and contributes to a host of other normal physiologic processes in the body. The primary systemic treatment for prostate cancer, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), lowers testosterone and causes side effects related to reversing all of the normal functions of testosterone. Although most men may experience only a few of these symptoms, the list of potential effects of testosterone loss is long: hot flashes, decreased sexual desire, loss of bone density and increased fracture risk (osteoporosis), erectile dysfunction, fatigue, increased risk of diabetes and heart attacks, weight gain, decreased muscle mass, anemia, and memory loss. “Bad” cholesterol levels rise, particularly LDL and total cholesterol, and muscle tends to get replaced by fat, especially around the abdomen. Curren...

In men with node-positive prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy there are limited data on the value of adding androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to postoperative radiotherapy. To determine whether there is a clear oncologic benefit to ADT in the setting of node-positive prostate cancer treated with postoperative radiotherapy. We analyzed data for 372 prostate cancer patients treated at San Raffaele Hospital with postoperative radiotherapy for node-positive disease after radical prostatectomy, 272 received both ADT and radiotherapy. Eighty-six men were followed without an event for more than 10 years. Patients who received postoperative radiotherapy + ADT had more aggressive disease, with higher preoperative PSA level, higher rate of ISUP grade 5, pT3b-T4 tumors and ≥3 positive nodes. At multivariable Cox regression, the comparison between men treated by postoperative radiotherapy + ADT vs. radiotherapy alone did not show a significant difference for overall (hazards ratio: 0.9...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Side Effects of Hormone Therapy    Prostate Cancer Foundation https://ift.tt/2JyalAW

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Side Effects of Hormone Therapy    Prostate Cancer Foundation https://ift.tt/2JyalAW

Gleason Score (GS) 9-10 prostate cancer is associated with particularly adverse oncological outcomes and the optimal treatment is unknown. Therefore, cancer-specific mortality (CSM) rates after radical prostatectomy (RP) ± adjuvant radiation therapy (aRT) vs. external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) were tested. Within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (2004-2015), 17,897 clinically localized prostate cancer patients with biopsy GS 9-10 were identified who either received RP ± aRT or EBRT. Temporal trends, cumulative incidence plots and multivariable competing-risks regression analyses were used after propensity score matching. Sensitivity analyses were performed according to primary treatment type (RP only vs. EBRT). Of all, 8,890 (49.7%) underwent EBRT vs. 9,007 (50.3%) underwent RP. Of those, 2,584 (28.7%) received aRT. No significant change in treatment assignment was recorded over time. In cumulative incidence smoothed plots, 10 year CSM rates were 19.9% vs....

False positives, over-diagnosis and a stable mortality rate raise doubts about this kind of screening for healthy men. Get ready. Come November, men will start growing out their moustaches. The stated goal is simple. They want to raise awareness about prostate cancer and want to encourage men to get their PSA level checked. But some people (generally the women who have to look at the men with moustaches) are not fans of the moustaches and feel they are unnecessary. Ironically, the PSA screening may be unnecessary too. Prostate specific antigen, or PSA, is a protein produced by cells in the prostate. Measuring PSA levels became widespread in the late 1980s as a way to detect early stage prostate cancer. In one sense, the test was very successful. The number of new prostate cancer diagnoses per year rose sharply after PSA screening started. But in another sense, PSA screening failed to do something that was even more important. While new cancer diagnoses went up, cancer deaths ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Side Effects of Hormone Therapy    Prostate Cancer Foundation https://ift.tt/2JyalAW

A study published by The BMJ Today has revealed that men who became fathers through assisted reproduction techniques may have a higher risk for prostate cancer and early onset the disease compared with men achieving fatherhood naturally. The findings suggest that these men may benefit from early screening and long-term monitoring for prostate cancer, according to the study authors. Although prostate cancer and many forms of infertility are related to male sex hormones and a possible link between them has been investigated, the limitations of this prior research have hindered researchers from making conclusive statements, according to the current study. Therefore, the study authors sought to compare the risk and severity of prostate cancer between men achieving fatherhood for the first time by assisted reproduction and men conceiving naturally. The researchers analyzed data from national registers for more than 1 million children born in Sweden between 1994 and 2014 to the same number...

False positives, over-diagnosis and a stable mortality rate raise doubts about this kind of screening for healthy men. Get ready. Come November, men will start growing out their moustaches. The stated goal is simple. They want to raise awareness about prostate cancer and want to encourage men to get their PSA level checked. But some people (generally the women who have to look at the men with moustaches) are not fans of the moustaches and feel they are unnecessary. Ironically, the PSA screening may be unnecessary too. Prostate specific antigen, or PSA, is a protein produced by cells in the prostate. Measuring PSA levels became widespread in the late 1980s as a way to detect early stage prostate cancer. In one sense, the test was very successful. The number of new prostate cancer diagnoses per year rose sharply after PSA screening started. But in another sense, PSA screening failed to do something that was even more important. While new cancer diagnoses went up, cancer deaths ...