U.S. Congress Increases Funding for Prostate Cancer Research for FY 2020
To foster more research projects in prostate cancer, the U.S. Congress has increased funding for the Department of Defense’s Prostate Cancer Research Program (PCRP) by $10 million, to $110 million, for fiscal year 2020. To read the full article click here.
Finland study finds how genetic mutation can cause aggressive forms of prostate cancer
Researchers at the University of Oulu in Finland, have found that a type of mutation in a single nucleotide plays a role in the development of aggressive prostate cancer. The study identified several key risk factors involved, and genetic predisposition was one of the...
Study finds nearly 3 out of 4 men on active surveillance are failing to get appropriate follow-up
The second most common cancer in men worldwide (after skin cancer) is still prostate cancer. Most cases diagnosed are slow growing, and may not require immediate treatment. Therefore, a lot of patients pursue active surveillance. According to a recent study in...
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More and more men with low-risk prostate cancer are pursuing active surveillance over aggressive treatment.
More American men with low-risk prostate cancer are being persuaded by their doctor to reject immediate surgery and/or radiation in favor of active surveillance. This move is sparing men’s sexual health without increasing their risk of death. A study done by the VA...
New Prostate Cancer Prognostic Test Soon-To-Be Available
A new prostate cancer prognostic test is in the works and soon-to-be available worldwide. MDxHealth recently signed an agreement that gives it licensing rights to market and manufacture the test. The test, InformMDx, looks at the recently validated biomarker PDE4D7,...
Prostate Cancer isn’t Just a “Man’s Disease”
It’s a simple fact anatomical fact that women will never have to worry about receiving their own prostate cancer diagnosis. Prostate cancer has long been referred to as a “man’s disease,” one must not overlook the burden that is shared by the patient’s partner. A...
New Support Program for Prostate Cancer Survivors in the UK helps ease psychological stress
Researchers at the University of Surrey and National Health Service in the U.K. have developed a web-based online cognitive behavioral therapy sessions and both filmed and interactive peer support. Every year, over 47,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in...
Before you can treat prostate cancer, its important to treat fear first
For many people, the words, “you have cancer” are synonymous with a death sentence. Many people start to think of all the people they knew who died within a year of their diagnosis. Within this fear, people tend to think they need the most extreme/aggressive...
SpaceOAR Hydrogel Now Covered by Medicare
As of January 1, 2018, a new technology called SpaceOAR™ Hydrogel is now a covered procedure by Medicare. This product helps to protect the rectum from unintended damage during radiation therapy for prostate cancer. SpaceOAR™ is a gel that is placed through a needle...
Better Way to Screen for Drug-resistant Prostate Cancer?
Researchers at the University of Toronto may have found a better way to identify prostate cancer patients who may not respond to first-line treatments. Tumors that are drug-resistant, have circulating tumor cells that often times have high levels of particular...
Another Tool in the Treatment of Recurrent Prostate Cancer
A recent article published in the New England Journal of Medicine reports a study showing the benefit of a new hormonal medication in reducing the development of prostate cancer metastases. About 1200 men from 26 countries throughout the world were enrolled in the...
Qualifying for Social Security Disability With Prostate Cancer
The information below was provided by Disability Benefits Help. We hope our viewers in the United States will find it helpful. Men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer might qualify for Social Security disability benefits. The Social Security Administration...
New Study finds Single High Dose Rate Brachytherapy is Effective against Prostate Cancer
New research shows that a single high-dose brachytherapy treatment is as effective and safe against localized prostate cancer as many low dose over time. The researchers at Oakland University’s William Beaumont School of Medicine in Royal Oaks, Michigan, said “It is...
PCa Commentary #121: AR-V7: The Clinical Utility of Knowing Your Status … And When Is the Information Most Useful.
A test for the splice-variant AR-V7, Oncotype Dx AR-V7 Nucleus Detect (Genomic Health, Inc.), has become commercially available. This Commentary will focus on the clinical significance of test results — their predictive and prognostic value. The Major Foundation...
When it comes to your health, you are your best advocate.
The PSA blood test…sounds harmless enough, and not that hard to do; and yet, according to a 2016 study published in JAMA International Medicine found that PSA (prostate specific antigen) testing- a blood test used to screen for prostate cancer- is on the decline. The...
Can Exercise Improve Prostate Cancer Patients’ Survival?-Global Study to find out
The study is called the Global Action Plan 4 Global Prostate Cancer (GAP4), and will include more than 150 researchers from around the world. The clinical trial will be looking to see if exercise can improve cancer symptoms and delay the disease’s progression. The...
Big Dangers when it comes to Pain management
When it comes to “pain management”, most people automatically think of over the counter medications. They take the prescribed dose, the medication goes to work, and the pain is managed; often times it is short-lived, and they can move on from it. But, for many...
Actor Stephen Fry reveals he has prostate cancer
Last week, Actor Stephen Fry revealed that for the past few months, he has been battling prostate cancer. Fry credits early detection: "I felt my life was saved by early intervention so I would urge any of you men of a certain age to get your PSA levels checked." ...
Don’t Allow Prostate Cancer to Drive You and Your Partner Apart
Facing a cancer diagnosis can be tough to handle as a couple. It’s safe to assume that a prostate cancer diagnosis will be stressful for any relationship. The possible unwanted changes that can occur before, during, or after treatment can be very trying, and couples...
Recurrence Anxiety Strikes Unexpectedly
The fear of recurrence weighs heavily on the minds of every cancer survivor, some more than others. For some it can be an overwhelming fear experienced on a daily basis, and for others, less frequent. For many patients, recurrence anxiety strikes most often around...
PCa Commentary
Expert Commentary On The Latest Prostate Cancer Topics
Written by Dr. Ed Weber
PCa Commentary is a well-researched, clearly presented commentary targeted to medical providers and others interested in current prostate cancer treatment. Each PCa Commentary edition offers an analysis of new developments in the field of prostate cancer with essays discussing and evaluating treatment management options for this disease.
PCa Commentary #174 – MANAGING BIOCHEMICAL FAILURE AFTER RADIATION THERAPY — The Importance of Considering Both PSA and PSA Doubling Time.
The set-point for biochemical failure was standardized in 2006 based on a consensus conference of experts in Phoenix, Arizona. The value agreed upon was “PSA + 2 ng/mL above the post-radiation PSA nadir — hence the “Phoenix Definition.” (Roach et...
PCa Commentary #172 – METASTASES DIRECTED THERAPY (MDT): Can Concomitant Hormone Suppression Be Avoided?
Metastases Directed Therapy refers to targeted radiation, i.e., such as CyberKnife, directed at a few metastatic lesions, (osseous or nodal), usually 3 - 5, for the purpose of controlling all imageable disease, delaying cancer progression and, if not accompanied by...
PCa Commentary #171 – Nonmetastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: The “Ides” of Androgen Receptor Inhibition – Enzalutamide, Apalutamide and Darolutamide.
Nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) is a transient, heterogeneous state that progresses to metastatic disease. nmCRPC is defined as a rising PSA after primary therapy in association with a castrate level of testosterone (<50 ng/mL) while...
PCa Commentary #170 – ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE (AS) for Men with Favorable-Intermediate Risk (F-IR) Prostate Cancer: Patient Selection and the Role of MRI Monitoring.
The key to optimal outcomes in active surveillance is careful patient selection and monitoring of participants during AS. MRI guided biopsy at initial diagnosis: Lee et al., Korean J Radiol. 2021 Jul, argue that in men in whom there is a clinical suspicion of prostate...
PCa Commentary #169 – ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION THERAPY (ADT) and Radiotherapy: Basic Mechanisms and New Developments.
Any man diagnosed with prostate cancer is likely aware that lowering testosterone (T) levels achieves control of the cancer at various stages of the disease. Question: What is the underlying biology and function of that therapeutic maneuver (androgen deprivation...
PCa Commentary #168 – De Novo Metastatic Castration-Sensitive Prostate Cancer: (mHSPC) — Many Options for Treatment
The incidence of metastatic prostate cancer at diagnosis, i.e., metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer has increased, partly due to the fallout from the 2012 Task Force recommendation against screening, particularly increasing in men older than 75 years. This...
PCa Commentary #167 – PROVENGE – AN UPDATE: What Has Been Learned Since FDA Approval in 2010?
Provenge (Dendreon, Inc, ‘Sipuleucel-T’) is an autologous (i.e., based on a patient’s own cells) vaccine targeted to the highly expressed prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) antigen on malignant prostate cells. It was FDA approved based on the IMPACT trial reporting a...
PCa Commentary #166 – CAR-T Cell IMMUNOTHERAPY OF PROSTATE CANCER: Promising, but Currently Only a “Work-in-Progress.”
Years before there was even a glimmer of technical possibility for effective immunotherapy, there was great hope for harassing the immune system to combat cancer. The earliest realization of this hope came with the FDA approval of Provenge in April 2010 and...
PCa Commentary #165 – Lutetium-177—PSMA-617 Therapy: Now FDA approved and to be available shortly: The Treatment in Context
[Prostate Cancer Commentary Vol. 143 PCa Commentary #143: ANTI-PSMA 177-LUTETIUM RADIOLIGAND THERAPY discusses the mechanism of action of 177Lu therapy, its background and outcome of early studies] (control+click above link to follow or visit...
PCa Commentary #164 – Recurrent Prostate Cancer – An Emerging Management Trifecta: PSMA PET/CT; Oligometastatic Cancer; Focal CyberKnife Treatment.
When the PSA is elevated following initial potentially curative treatment with prostatectomy or radiation therapy, the customary management response has been hormone suppression with Lupron, Degarilix or Relugolix. This Commentary highlights an alternative...
UNDERSTANDING PROSTATE CANCER
What is Prostate Cancer?
What is Prostate Cancer, the Symptoms, Risk Factors? What does the Prostate do, where is it located?
Prostate Cancer Recurrence.
For Some, Cancer Returns After Treatment. Compare Treatments. Increase Your Odds of Remaining in Remission.
Treating Prostate Cancer.
Patients have options when it comes to the prostate cancer treatments. Learn about your treatment options.
Remission versus Recurrence?
Relapse of prostate cancer is way more common than you might think. Many men treated for prostate cancer have their cancer return, which can lead to a lifetime of treatment. Prostate Cancer Free studies treatment outcomes documented in "The STUDY", recently updated for 2021. Take this Study to your doctor, and discuss your chance of cancer recurrence. The Study is available with the new, just released booklet, to help you learn about prostate cancer. Both the Prostate Cancer Free Study and the booklet, “What You Need to Know About Prostate Cancer” are available NOW for you to VIEW, PRINT or DOWNLOAD.
Help To Continue the Work!
The Prostate Cancer Free Foundation, reviews the results of hundreds of thousands of men treated for prostate cancer. Tracking them for years. This information is available to you, and others like you, to help find the best prostate cancer treatment. This work takes time, effort, resources all of it done by volunteers. Please help us continue. Please Donate!