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Do you have a news item to contribute?
We want to hear from you! Members of the support group are welcome to
contribute any items of interest to the group at large. Updates on your status,
news about prostate cancer treatments, or anything you feel would be of interest
to the group are all welcome. Contact Doug Thornton, 588-1586 or
 or Howard
Waage, 688-0423 with your story.
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March
2006
NEWSLETTER
Howard Waage (688-0423) ----Editor
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At our March meeting, we will be honored to have
J. Talisman Pomeroy M.D., Director of The Cancer Prevention and Treatment Center
Of The Central Coast, speak to our support group about prostate cancer clinical
trials and other treatment options.
Where:
Our meeting will be
downstairs in two-story redwood Education Building behind Santa Cruz
Dominican Hospital. We meet in the Bennett & Suzy Katz Cancer Resource Center on
the 1st Floor.
When:
Tuesday, March 28th, 2006 7:00 PM For more information: Please call-The
Bennett and Suzy Katz
Cancer Resource Center at Dominican Hospital 831-462-7770
Please feel
free to contact any of the following steering committee members if you would
like to volunteer
or if you
have any suggestions or questions.
Tony & Beverley Calvo
684-0940 Frank Schmetz 438 4781 Bill McDermott
423-8350 Howard Waage 688-0423
Richard & Tina Koch 761-3577
Julie Batz 724-2701 Lynn Dreeszen 439-8632
Tim Ryan
476-6550
Our website: http://www.scprostate.org
Doug Thornton 724-6446 (Webmaster)
SUPPORT SUB-GROUP FOR MEN WITH ADVANCED PROSTATE CANCER MEETINGS
This group is
for men that have been diagnosed with prostate cancer which has spread outside
the prostate or who have experienced a recurrence after primary treatment.
Typically, these men are receiving hormone blockade, are participating in a
clinical trial or are receiving some other form of advanced treatment. The
sub-Group meets every TWO months at the Katz Cancer Resource Center of
Dominican Hospital. The sub-group meets on the 2nd MONDAY OF THE MONTH.
The purpose
of this group is to better address the special problems and issues of men with
advanced prostate cancer. In addition, at some meetings, we invite local medical
oncologists to discuss their approach and treatments. Men with advanced prostate
cancer will continue to be welcomed at the regular monthly meetings on
the last Tuesday of the month. Tony Calvo has agreed to coordinate the
sub-group. If you have any suggestions or questions, contact Tony Calvo at
684-0940.
Next
Meeting Date:.
The Advanced Prostate Cancer Support Group will
meet on Monday, April 10,
2006, 5 7 pm. at the Katz Cancer
Resource Center.
SUPPORT SUB-GROUP MEETING FOR WIVES and PARTNERS OF MEN LIVING WITH PROSTATE
CANCER
This group is
for women to share information with each other, learn more about prostate
cancer, and how to cope with the impact of the disease individually and within
the family in a supportive, caring and confidential environment. The meeting
will be held every two months, the 2nd Monday of the month, 5 7pm (same time
and same building as the mens Advanced Prostate Cancer Meeting). For more
information, contact Julie Batz at 724-2701
Next Meeting Date:
Monday, April 10,
2006, 5 7 pm, Rm. E (upstairs from the Katz Cancer Resource Center)
.PROSTATE CANCER IN THE NEWS..
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2006 Prostate Cancer Symposium - Session on The
Treatment Of Low And Intermediate Risk Prostate Cancer
By Christopher P. Evans, MD
Dr. Bill-Axelson presented the watchful-waiting
(WW) vs. radical prostectomy (RP) Scandinavian trial at the 2006 Prostate Cancer
Symposium sponsored by ASCO/ASTRO/SUO/Prostate Cancer Foundation meeting in San
Francisco, February 24-26, 2006. With 10 years of follow-up the death from CaP
is 15 vs 10% for WW and RP, respectively. Overall death was 32 vs 27% in men who
had WW and RP, respectively. No impact from Gleason score was noted in subset
analysis, but men less than 65 years had a much lower risk of CaP mortality. CAP
mortality is decreased 44% with RP. Overall mortality is decreased 26%.
Dr. Laurie Klotz discussed the approach of WW
with delayed intervention. He cited the 20-40 year natural history of CaP and
approximately 10 year lead time bias. For patients with low risk CaP, WW with
delayed intervention is a sound approach according to Dr. Klotz's data. At a
median follow-up of 72 months in 299 patients on WW, 34% came off WW while 65%
remain on surveillance. At 9 years, overall survival was 85% CaP specific
survival was 99%. High risk patients will be detected by following the PSA
doubling time and thus intervention can be implemented. These data are the basis
for the START study (Surveillance Treatment Against Restricted Treatment), which
have 2,100 patients randomized to either WW or choice of standard therapy.
DR. Huland from Hamburg argued that surgery is
the best treatment for low and intermediate risk CaP. In 4,762 patients treated
by RP in Hamburg, a shift in low risk disease from 24.5% to 60% occurred from
1992 to 2005. In their series, both low stage and low grade tumors are cured by
RP in greater than 80%. This is supported by numerous studies he cited from the
literature. In modern series, the morbidity of RP is very low. With regard to
potency, a soon to be published series from his institution including 524 men,
found 96% were potent at 12 months if younger than 55 years, 70% of these
without PDE-5 inhibitors. In men greater than 65 years, 80% and 55% were potent
in total and without PDE-5 inhibitors, respectively.
Dr. Potters from the New York Prostate Institute
argued for brachytherapy as the best treatment for low and intermediated risk
CaP. Implant quality is paramount to outcomes, said Dr. Potters and the
biologically effective dose calculation as describe at Mt. Sinai is essential to
standardize outcomes. The addition of EBRT to brachytherapy alone significantly
decreases the potency rate at 5 years from 90% to 65%. Using new intraoperative
dynamic dosing calculations, the toxicity of brachytherapy is decreased, to
include irritative symptoms and incidence of acute urinary retention.
Dr. Kuban from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
argued for external beam radiation as the best treatment for low and
intermediated risk CaP. IMRT typically provides 8 beam angles with intensity
modulators to give a conformal dose distribution to the prostate, which
decreases rapidly to the bladder and rectum. A dose-volume histogram is set up
for individual patients to maximize prostate dosing and minimize toxicity. To
compensate for prostate movement during treatment, ultrasound or CT scanning on
each treatment day can realign the patient for optimal treatment. The disease
free outcome for low risk men at 10 years is 80-90%. It is about 10% less for
intermediate risk, although the addition of androgen deprivation improves the
cancer specific outcomes. Hypofractionated RT will likely become used more in
the future. Hypofractionation gives larger, but less frequent dosing fractions
and may improve outcomes and decrease total dosing necessary.
Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) at the American
Society of Clinical Oncology Prostate Cancer Symposium, Feb. 24 to 26 at the San
Francisco Marriott. The study, abstract number 139, will be featured in a press
program at the meeting, 7:30 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 26.
"In previous studies, we have determined that
men who receive androgen deprivation therapy, a frequently used treatment for
prostate cancer, suffer from severe drops in bone mass and are at an increased
risk for fracture," said study principal investigator Susan Greenspan, M.D.,
professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh and director, Osteoporosis
Prevention and Treatment Center, UPMC. "In an attempt to mitigate these effects,
we gave men using this therapy a once-weekly oral agent called alendronate that
is commonly used to treat osteoporosis. We found that men who received it had
significantly increased bone mass compared to those who did not receive the
therapy."
The study included 112 men with prostate cancer
with an average age of 71. After an average of two years androgen deprivation
therapy for prostate cancer, only 9 percent of the men had normal bone mass,
while 52 percent had low bone mass and 39 percent developed osteoporosis. To
study the effect of alendronate on these men, they were randomized into two
groups to receive either alendronate once a week through an orally administered
pill or a placebo. At one year follow-up, bone mass in the spine and hip
increased significantly in the men treated with alendronate, 4.9 percent and 2.1
percent respectively. By comparison, men in the placebo group had significant
losses of bone mass in the spine and hip, 1.3 percent and .7 percent
respectively. In addition, the therapy was well-tolerated and easily
administered.
"Since most men with prostate cancer remain on
androgen deprivation therapy for an indefinite amount of time, bone loss can be
a serious and long-term side effect from therapy," said Joel Nelson, M.D.,
co-author of the study and professor and chairman of the department of urology
at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "With more than 230,000 men
being diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, the addition of alendronate
therapy could help to prevent the incidence of debilitating bone fractures."
Androgen deprivation therapy works by depriving
the body of testosterone, an androgen hormone that increases the growth of
prostate tumors. However, testosterone also is essential to maintaining bone
mass in men. While doctors have been using this type of therapy for more than a
decade to treat men with late-stage metastatic prostate cancer, they have begun
using it more recently in men with earlier-stage disease and for longer periods
of time; this increased exposure increases the risk for developing osteoporosis.
"These results suggest to us that men who are
under treatment for prostate cancer should be encouraged to get a bone density
test and that those at risk could benefit greatly from bone-preserving therapy,"
said Dr. Greenspan.
Clare Collins / Michele D. Baum, CollCX@upmc.edu
/
BaumMD@upmc.edu Univ. of Pittsburgh Medical Center
http://www.upmc.edu, Source:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=38406&nfid=rssfeeds
A New View on Prostate Cancer - Treating elderly
men right after diagnosis is better than the current 'watchful waiting'
approach, a study indicates.
By Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times
(2/26/2006) It is better to treat prostate cancer in the elderly early on
rather than to wait and watch for signs of progression, as is now commonly done,
according to a new study that may change the care for many patients with the
deadly disorder. Surgery or radiation therapy in elderly men increases survival
by at least 30%, raising median survival times from 10 years to more than 13
years, researchers reported Saturday at a prostate symposium in San Francisco.
The finding in a study of about 49,000 men
"challenges long-held beliefs about prostate cancer treatment" by suggesting
that treatment is better than so-called watchful waiting, said Dr. Paul Lange of
the University of Washington, who did not participate in the study.
"It's a wonderful paper that validates what many
of us have believed for a long time," said Dr. Mark Kawachi, director
of the prostate cancer center at City of Hope
National Medical Center in Duarte. "Age, in and of itself, is not a definitive
determinant of whether you should be excluded from treatment" for prostate
cancer, he said.
Prostate cancer is the most common type of
cancer among men, with about 235,000 new cases diagnosed in the United States
this year and about 27,000 deaths, according to the American Cancer Society.
It is primarily a disease of the elderly, with
about two-thirds of those afflicted over age 65. But there is an "incredible
controversy" over how to treat those older patients, said Dr. Yu-Ning Wong of
the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, who led the new study.
Although it is clearly beneficial to treat
younger men with the disease, many oncologists put off treatment of older ones
on the assumption that most prostate cancers are slow growing. They reason that
the afflicted individual is likely to die from some other cause before the
prostate cancer becomes serious. Wong's study is the first to compare treatment
and no treatment in this age group. It is an observational study, so its results
cannot be considered definitive, but the findings should provide guidance to
physicians and patients who are unsure about how to proceed.
"There is a misconception that prostate cancer
is universally an innocuous disease of the elderly," said Dr. Howard Scher,
chief of genitourinary oncology at the Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer Center in
New York. With Wong's and other studies, "we are clearly seeing that is not the
case."
Wong's team studied Medicare records for 48,606
men age 65 to 80 who had survived for a year after a prostate cancer diagnosis.
All were diagnosed between 1991 and 1999, with a median age of 72 at diagnosis.
A total of 19,948 men received radiation therapy, 14,098 underwent surgery and
the remaining 14,560 were simply observed.
Wong reported Saturday that 27% of the men in
the watchful waiting group were still alive, with a median survival time the
period in which half the patients died of 10 years. In contrast, 59% of those
who received either surgery or radiation therapy were still alive, with a median
survival time of 13 years and growing.
The benefit of treatment was apparent even among
men who were 75 to 80 at the time of diagnosis. Radiation and surgery seemed to
be equally effective in all age groups, she said. The study results were
"optimistic," she said. "It is nice to know that what we have been doing for
people is probably helping them."
Critics said the findings might be biased
somewhat because the researchers had no way of determining whether the prostate
cancer patients may have had some other medical problem that precluded treatment
for their cancer. Wong said, however, that, even if allowance for the
possibility of bias is made, "there is clearly a survival advantage associated
with treatment."
Kawachi said the study did not examine the
potential side effects and complications of treatment, which may include urinary
incontinence and sexual dysfunction, among other things. It's possible, he said,
that some patients may live longer, but with a diminished quality of life.
If the patient is excessively concerned about
those potential complications, "you have to wonder whether it is in the
patient's best interest to undergo treatment." But, he said, as treatments
improve and the risk of complications diminishes, "then I think more of the
older patient population can appreciate and enjoy the survival advantage offered
by treating prostate cancer."
Meanwhile, oncologists are eagerly awaiting
results from a variety of other prostate-cancer trials that are in progress. Two
trials, one conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs and one in England,
are randomly assigning men with prostate cancer to treatment and watchful
waiting groups. Because those trials are prospective that is, researchers are
randomly assigning patients into treatment / no-treatment groups rather than
looking at results in hindsight the results are expected to be definitive.
Another large trial being
conducted by the National Cancer Institute will determine whether yearly
screening with a digital rectal exam and a PSA blood test used to detect a
dysfunctional prostate will decrease prostate cancer deaths. Some scientists
have argued that it does not.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-prostate26feb26,0,3323124.story?coll=la-home-nation
Prostate Cancer Deaths Drop 10 Percent
WASHINGTON,
D.C. (Feb 17, 2006)- Prostate cancer deaths will hit an all time low in 2006
an astounding 10 percent drop from 2005. These numbers tout the success of
annual early detection and advances in treatment as a result from public and
privately funded research, National Prostate Cancer Coalition CEO Richard N.
Atkins, M.D. said. Spreading the word that annual screenings work and making
contributions toward the advancement of treatments will make prostate cancer a
memory.
Prostate
cancer remains the second deadliest cancer among American men at 27,350 (down
from 30,350 in 2005). The disease also remains the most commonly diagnosed
non-skin cancer in American men at 234,460 (up from 232,460 from 2005).
Predictions are made from annual data made available by the National Cancer
Institute and the American Cancer Society.
Prostate
cancer survival is at its brightest moment to date, said Atkins. Men diagnosed
with prostate cancer are now living longer and healthier lives. If every part of
America works together, prostate cancer can be beat. When prostate cancer is
caught in its early stages, the 15-year survival rate stands at 77 percent, up
from 61 percent in 2005. The 10-year survival rate after early diagnoses is up
one percent to 93 percent. Five-year survival rates when prostate cancer is
caught early remain unchanged at virtual 100 percent.
The U.S. now
ranks 28th in prostate cancer death rates in the world improving from 13th in
2005. Uganda, Norway and Sweden rank as the top three nations on the globe in
prostate cancer death rates respectively while China has the lowest prostate
cancer death rate in the world. Records continue to prove the point the prostate
cancer mortality has a strong tie to diet and obesity as Asian nations, with
diets rich in low fat foods and soy, rank very low in prostate cancer mortality.
Prostate Cancer Mortality Rates among Race
* White -
27.7
* African
American - 68.1
* Hispanic -
23.0
* Asian
American - 12.1
* American
and Alaska Native - 18.3
Rates are per
100,000 in the 2000 U.S. standard population.
Prostate Cancer Facts:
* About 33 percent of
all men with cancer have prostate cancer.
* About nine
percent of men who die from cancer died from prostate cancer.
* U.S.
prostate cancer mortality rate is 30.3 per 100,000.
* U.S.
prostate cancer incidence rate is 163.8 per 100,000.
* Hawaii has
the lowest prostate cancer death rate in the country (20.5)
* Washington,
DC has the highest prostate cancer death rate in the country (51.0)
* There are
23 states that DO NOT have laws mandating that insurance companies pay for
prostate cancer screenings compared to 49 for breast cancer. Among the states
that do not have the law is Washington, DC.
* The federal
government spends only $495 million on prostate cancer research, compared to
about $850 million for breast cancer.
* African
Americans are 2.5 times more likely to die from prostate cancer.
* Men with a
body mass index of 32.5 or greater are 33 percent more likely to die from
prostate cancer if diagnosed.
Source: http://www.aapress.com/Archive/2006/webfeb17/h-prostate.htm
Vitamin D slows prostate cancer
WASHINGTON DC (myDNA News), 17 Feb 2006
Evidence from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) in New York
reveals that vitamin D may stop the progression - or possibly even destroy -
prostate cancer cells. "Vitamin D significantly limits the ability of prostate
cancer cells to invade healthy cells," said Yi-Fen Lee, Ph.D., assistant
professor of urology at URMC. "We put prostate cancer cells in a test tube, then
added vitamin D. Essentially, it kept the cancerous cells from spreading."
"Vitamin D does this because it keeps prostate
cancer cells from growing, so it can keep cancer from spreading to other parts
of the body. This is very promising because prostate cancer can migrate to the
lymph nodes and then to the bones. Prostate cancer, in particular, likes to go
to bones, making it more serious and causing patients a lot of pain," Lee noted.
Lee's most recent research proves that the
vitamin can stop prostate cancer tumors from getting larger. "We found that
vitamin D inhibits angiogenesis, which is the forming of new blood vessels
inside a tumor. Tumors need blood and nutrition to grow bigger and bigger, so if
you can block more blood vessels from forming, you can basically stop the tumor
from growing," she said.
The link between the vitamin and cancer has been
studied by researchers for quite a while. "We've known for awhile that men who
have less vitamin D in their blood are at higher risk for prostate cancer," Lee
said.
For the clinical trials, researchers gave high
doses of the vitamin in pill form. Lee stressed the importance of having
patients speak with their doctors - before popping any pills - because high
doses of vitamin D can also disrupt calcium absorption. For this reason,
scientists are still working on finding safe ways to administer high doses of
vitamin D without causing consequent side effects.
Men can still meet their needs for vitamin D
through daily exposure to sunlight. Research has shown that lighter-skinned men
in Southern states have a lower incidence of prostate cancer than men who live
in colder climates or have darker skin because they get less vitamin D from the
sun.
To get adequate amounts of vitamin D, experts
recommend 20 minutes of sun exposure each day without the use of sunscreen. But
it is also found in vegetables like spinach and broccoli and in vitamin
supplements, and is added to fortified milk and cereals. Getting vitamin D from
food is important, doctors say, but exposure to sunlight is key to stimulating
production of the vitamin into a form our bodies can use.
Maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D at all
times is important for the prevention of prostate cancer, especially for men at
higher risk for the disease. This includes African-Americans and those with a
family history of it. "It is our hope that in the future, doctors will be able
to combine vitamin D therapy with other traditional cancer treatments like
radiation. We just need to find a safe method of delivering it," Lee said.
Source:
http://www.mydna.com/health/prostate_cancer/news/news_20060217_vitd_cancer.html
Dogs Get Prostate Cancer, Too
Jan. 23, 2006 - It turns out that man's best
friend suffers from an affliction that strikes many men: prostate cancer.
In fact, canine cases of the disease are helping
scientists learn some new tricks about treating the second deadliest cancer
among men."The only animal that gets prostate cancer, in addition to men, are
dogs," said Dr. Thomas Rosol, of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer
Center. "And the disease is very similar in dogs as it is in men."
Rosol has been studying prostate cancer in dogs
to learn how advanced cases metastasize, or spread, to the bones. Until now,
there hasn't been a good way to study that process. By using cancer cells taken
from dogs, Rosol's research team created a new cell line -- the first that
closely mimics prostate cancer cells in humans, which could someday give them
insights into new treatments. "That would be really tremendous, if down the
road, we can actually inhibit the bone metastasis," said Rosol. "This would be
an enormous breakthrough for human medicine."
Preventing metastasis would be especially
valuable for people like Jim Strecker. He's been battling prostate cancer for
seven years, but he never felt any pain from it until it spread to his bones. At
that point, the pain grew so severe that he couldn't sleep or enjoy his artwork.
Strecker eventually found a treatment that makes his condition less painful. But
someday doctors may be able to do more than just ease the pain. With the help of
man's best friend, they might be able to sculpt a treatment that stops prostate
cancer in the first place.
The new cell line is significant because it
allows researchers to test new prostate cancer treatments the lab, which is much
faster and easier than in humans. Source: wnbc.com
Fair
Use Notice: This
newsletter may contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically
authorized by the copyright owners. We believe that this not-for-profit,
educational use constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided
for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use any copyrighted
material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain
permission from the copyright owner.
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The Santa
Cruz County Prostate Cancer Support Group does not endorse any provider,
organization, product or individual. All medical decisions should be made
with the advice and consultation of medical professionals.
Our
newsletter serves over 200 members. Many THANKS to the American Cancer Society
for assisting with the printing and mailing of this newsletter and the Katz
Cancer Resource Center for allowing us to use their facility.
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