Drug Fights Resistant Prostate Tumors
Abiraterone Takes Different Tack to Combat Cancer
By Charlene Laino
Source: WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD
Feb. 18, 2007 (San Francisco) -- A novel drug that blocks the production of male hormones anywhere in the body shows promise for curbing the growth of hard-to-treat prostate tumors.
The experimental agent, called abiraterone, reduced PSA levels by 50% or more in nearly half of 38 patients whose prostate cancer continued to spread despite standard therapy. In nine men, tumors shrank or stopped growing altogether.
PSA levels are a measure of a protein called prostate-specific antigen, which is produced by cells in the prostate. High PSA levels can signal cancer. Men with faster drops in PSA post-treatment tend to have more favorable outcomes after treatment. (click here to read more)
Lower PSA Values Found In Overweight And Obese Men, Even Before Diagnosis Of Prostate Cancer
Men who are overweight or obese have lower concentrations of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in their blood than their normal-weight counterparts, according to a new study led by Duke University Medical Center researchers.
The finding echoes earlier results on PSA concentrations found in obese and overweight men with prostate cancer and highlights the need to reconsider PSA threshold values for heavier patients, and to encourage those patients to get serious about losing weight.
(click here to read more)
Prostate Cancer Watch And Wait Suggested For Older Men
US researchers, revealing the results of a study on prostate cancer at a meeting of specialists in San Francisco this week, suggested that watch and wait is a safe option for older men with early stage prostate cancer because they are not likely to die from the disease.
The study was carried out by Dr Grace Lu-Yao of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and colleagues and was sponsored by the US National Cancer Institute.
According to Reuters news agency, the source of the story in many newspapers and internet media, these findings support the belief held by many cancer specialists, that prostate cancer is rarely a killer when it strikes late in life.
Lu-Yao and colleagues found that of 9,000 men aged 70 and over with low to moderate grade prostate cancer tumours, only 3 to 7 per cent died within 10 years of diagnosis.
(click here to read more)
Prostate Cancer Rate Among African Americans High
FOX 2 News St. Louis - Feb 20 5:06 PM
The reasons vary but the prostate cancer rate among African Americans is twice that of the white population. And a local group is trying to change that. A blood sample could save a life. But African American men seem unaware of its benefits in the fight against prostate cancer It's the second leading cancer killer of men. And African American males are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer. (click here to read more)
Prostate Cancer Treatment Can Be Risky
Hormone Treatment May Have Adverse Effects for Some Patients
By Charlene Laino
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
Feb. 18, 2008 (San Francisco) -- For some men with prostate cancer, the risks of a common treatment may outweigh the benefits, new research suggests.
At issue is androgen deprivation therapy to lower levels of male hormones that can fuel prostate cancer growth. Alternately called hormone treatment or ADT, it's a well-accepted treatment for men with advanced cancer that has spread outside the prostate. ADT can be done by orchiectomy (removal of the testicles) or hormone therapy alone to reduce the production of male hormones; it also may be done in combination with anti-androgens, which block the effect of male hormones. (click here to read more)
