Santa Cruz County Prostate Cancer Support Group
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Serving all of SANTA CRUZ COUNTY Santa Cruz PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP January 2009 Newsletter Where: Our meeting will be in the Bennett & Suzy Katz Cancer Resource Center on the 1st Floor of the When: Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 7:00 PM. For more information: Please call-The Bennett 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. Joe Ferrara 426-7724 Frank and Janet Schmetz 438 4781 Bill McDermott 423-8350 Howard Waage 688-0423 ...PROSTATE CANCER IN THE NEWS... Prostate Cancer Discovered in 40 Percent of Men Who Test Negative for the Disease WESTMONT, Ill., Dec 15, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Forty percent of men with prostate cancer may not even know they have it, according to a new research study by the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Chicago. The study revealed the standard office biopsy procedure often isn't enough to properly detect prostate cancer. This new research will be published in an upcoming issue of Urology, a national medical journal. Researchers used an advanced biopsy technique called stereotactic transperineal prostate biopsy (STPB). This was performed on patients with persistent elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels who previously had at least one negative office biopsy. All patients had received transrectal prostate biopsies (TRPB), administered by a urologist. "Men who have negative transrectal biopsies and continue to have elevated PSA levels should consider STPB because 40% will harbor malignancy," says Michelle Braccioforte, director of research and education for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Chicago. "Our level of confidence is greatly enhanced with regards to the presence or absence of cancer, and more specifically, the exact location of the cancer within the prostate." STPB is performed by taking a median of 40 samples of the prostate through the perineum while the patient is under general anesthesia. Performed as an outpatient procedure, it allows more comprehensive sampling, compared to the transrectal method, which takes fewer samples through the rectum. In addition, by taking more samples during STPB, the exact location of the cancer can be pinpointed. Between April 2004 and January 2008, 747 patients with high PSA levels were studied. All patients had been tested using TRPB at least once and all results had been negative. All patients received the STPB. Biopsy results identified the presence of cancer in 291 (39%) of the patients. One in six men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, the most common form of cancer among men. For those with elevated or rising PSA levels, this is a sign that further testing should be administered to rule out prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Chicago, located in Westmont, IL, is a not-for-profit organization that conducts ongoing research intended to improve the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. For more information, visit http://www.chicagoprostatefoundation.org. http://www.zerocancer.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=10269 Selenium, Vitamins E and C Won't Prevent Prostate Cancer By Serena Gordon TUESDAY, Dec. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Selenium, vitamin E and vitamin C won't prevent men from getting prostate cancer. In findings that were released early because of the public health implications, the results of two large randomized, controlled clinical trials showed the supplements failed to provide a cancer-prevention benefit, despite past findings that seemed to indicate great promise -- particularly for selenium. Both studies were expected to be published in the Jan. 7 print issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Our results showed no evidence of benefit from selenium and vitamin E on prostate cancer and other cancers," said the lead author of one of the studies, Dr. Scott Lippman, a professor of medicine in the division of cancer medicine at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston. Lippman's study, known as the SELECT trial, included more than 35,000 men. Black men included in the study were all over 50, and men from other races were all over 55. (Blacks have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer than do men of other races, according to the American Cancer Society.) The men were randomly assigned to one of four groups: selenium; vitamin E; selenium and vitamin E; or a placebo. The average follow-up time was more than five years. The researchers found no statistically significant difference between the groups, and the trial was ended early, because there was no convincing evidence of efficacy. The second study, done by Harvard researchers, included almost 15,000 male physicians over 50 who were randomly assigned to receive vitamin E, vitamin C, or a placebo. The average follow-up time for this trial was eight years. These studies are just the latest in a long list of recent research that's been discounting the use of individual vitamins and supplements for chemoprevention. Other recent studies have suggested that vitamins, B, C, D, E, folic acid and calcium taken alone, or in various combinations, aren't effective for cancer prevention. "Single-agent interventions, even in combinations, may be an ineffective approach to primary prevention in average-risk populations," wrote Dr. Peter Gann, the author of an accompanying editorial in the same issue of the journal. Andrew Shao, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the Center for Responsible Nutrition in Washington, D.C., said he thought researchers need to "redefine our expectations for nutrients. They're not magic bullets, though they do have tangible effects." Shao said studies that look at vitamins and cancer prevention tend to treat vitamins the same way they would a targeted pharmaceutical agent. But, he said, "the whole body is affected by nutrients, while pharmaceuticals are highly specialized and targeted to specific cells." "It would be a mistake to look at one trial that answers a very specific question and say these nutrients don't work at all," said Shao. Lippman, however, said he doesn't recommend the use of supplements for cancer prevention. "There's no evidence to support taking these," he said. Source: http://news.yahoo.com Radiation Plus Hormone Therapy Cuts Prostate Cancer Deaths By Steven Reinberg MONDAY, Dec. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Men with locally advanced prostate cancer -- cancer that has spread beyond the wall of the prostate gland -- who undergo radiation plus long-term hormone treatment cut their risk of dying in half, a new study has found. The addition of radiotherapy kept patients healthy much longer, the Swedish research team concluded. In fact, by adding radiotherapy, men's overall survival was increased by 10 percent with only a modest increase in the risk of radiation-related side effects. "The study will change practice in the treatment of locally advanced or local aggressive prostate cancer," said lead researcher Dr. Anders Widmark, from the department of radiation sciences and oncology at Umeå University. "These patients should be offered the addition of local radiation treatment." In this trial, 875 men with locally advanced prostate cancer were randomly assigned to receive either the drug flutamide (Eulexin), to block androgens (male hormones), or hormone therapy along with radiation. Androgens are thought to encourage the spread of prostate cancer, so blocking their effect is a common prostate cancer treatment. Over an average follow-up of almost eight years, 79 men who received hormone treatment alone died, compared with 37 men who received hormone treatment plus radiation, Widmark's group found. After 10 years, 23.9 percent of the men in the hormone therapy-only group had died from prostate cancer compared with 11.9 percent of the men in the combined treatment group. In addition, death from any cause was higher in the hormone therapy-only group, (39.4 percent) than in the combined treatment group (29.6 percent), the researchers found. Moreover, fewer men in the combined treatment group saw a return of their cancer (26 percent) than did men in the hormone-only group (75 percent). The addition of local treatment with radiotherapy improves survival, Widmark concluded. "These patients are highly curable -- only 10 percent will die of prostate cancer within 10 years," he said. "They should not give up." Dr. Chris Parker, from the Institute of Cancer Research in Sutton, Surrey, UK, and author of an accompanying editorial in the journal, said that combined radiation and hormone therapy should become standard treatment for men with locally advanced prostate cancer. "This is a pivotal trial that for the first time demonstrates that radiotherapy improves survival of men with high-risk localized and locally advanced prostate cancer," Parker said. "It is no longer acceptable to regard hormone therapy alone as standard of care." D'Amico agreed, noting that most U.S. doctors already provide combo therapy as standard treatment for men with locally advanced prostate cancer. "Combined treatment with radiation and hormonal therapy is necessary to get the best overall survival in men with locally advanced prostate cancer," he said. "The study nails that home." Source: http://www.businessweek.com/print/lifestyle/content/healthday/622304.html+++ 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. +++++ 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. 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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