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The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and Cancer Care Ontario today issued a joint clinical practice guideline update on brachytherapy for patients with prostate cancer. The update provides evidence-based recommendations for different patient risk groups and specifies the most effective...
Hypofractionated radiotherapy was noninferior to standard radiotherapy in biochemical-clinical failure disease-free survival in men with localized prostate cancer, according to a study reported by Catton et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Study Details In the trial, 1,206 patients with...
As reported by Mason et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, long-term survival results of the UK-based, multiarm, multistage platform–design STAMPEDE trial showed no survival benefit with the addition of celecoxib or celecoxib plus zoledronic acid in men initiating long-term hormone...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Trevor J. Royce, MD, of Harvard Radiation Oncology Program, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and colleagues found that a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir > 0.5 ng/mL may be a dominant risk factor for all-cause mortality after radiation therapy and...
“These data are consistent with other studies we have conducted in advanced lung cancer, in which we similarly found that one-third of patients believed that their metastatic lung cancer was curable. These patients ostensibly already had conversations with their oncologists about their prognosis...
More than one-third of men with incurable metastatic prostate cancer mistakenly believe that their cancer may be curable, according to a survey of patient expectations at an academic cancer center. “This study is part of a larger survey of treatment decision-making among men with metastatic...
In a Swedish study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Loeb et al found that use of testosterone replacement therapy was not associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer and was associated with a lower risk of aggressive cancer among men developing the disease. Study Details The ...
In the phase III SYNERGY trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Chi et al found that the addition of the second-generation antisense oligonucleotide custirsen to docetaxel and prednisone did not improve overall survival in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Custirsen...
In a large European cohort study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Smith Byrne et al found that vasectomy was not associated with an increased overall risk of prostate cancer or death from prostate cancer but appeared to increase the risk of lower-grade disease. Other studies have...
A genetically engineered mouse model developed by Blattner et al investigating the role of the gene Speckle Type BTB/POZ Protein, or SPOP, as a driver of prostate cancer has found that the mutation drives prostate neoplasia through coordinate deregulation of both P13K/mTOR and androgen receptor...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Salloum et al found that use of nonindicated imaging for diagnostic staging of low-risk prostate cancer in a nonprofit integrated health-care system remained common but has decreased in frequency. As noted by the authors: “The overuse...
Formal discussant for the presentation of SWOG S9921 results, Susan F. Slovin, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, said there were some important points to understand about this “vintage” trial. “The trial was designed 20 years ago, and the view is...
An older trial designed to evaluate the benefits of adjuvant therapy following radical prostatectomy in patients with high-risk prostate cancer showed no difference in overall or disease-free survival between 2 years of androgen-deprivation therapy and 2 years of androgen-deprivation therapy plus...
Diana D. Jeffery, PhD, of the Defense Health Agency, discusses the need to screen for mental health comorbidities, including depression, anxiety, adjustment disorders, substance use disorders, and persistent mental illnesses, as shown in a study of breast and prostate cancer patients (Abstract 18).
Results from a new prospective clinical trial indicate that high–dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy administered in a single 19-Gy treatment may be a safe and effective alternative to longer courses of HDR treatment for men with localized prostate cancer. The study was reported by Krauss et al in...
A new analysis of data from the U.S. Military Health System found that mood and adjustment disorders such as anxiety and depression were strong predictors of the annual number of outpatient visits, hospital admissions, and number of days in the hospital for patients with breast and prostate...
Scientists at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University have developed a noninvasive technique to detect the presence of prostate cancer cells in patients' urine. The pilot study, led by Mathew L. Thakur, PhD, Director, Laboratories of Radiopharmaceutical Research and Molecular ...
Guru Sonpavde, MD, of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses his study on circulating tumor DNA alterations in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and the therapeutic direction the data suggest. (Abstract 149)
Paul L. Nguyen, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, summarizes a session he co-chaired, which included discussion of Canadian vs U.S. guidelines; ProtecT; genomic and hereditary tests; and imaging to guide active surveillance. (General Session 1)
Paul L. Nguyen, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discuses an evaluation of the Decipher prostate cancer classifier to predict metastasis and disease-specific mortality from genomic analysis of diagnostic needle biopsy specimens. (Abstract 4)
Joshua M. Lang, MD, of the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, discusses genomic alterations in DNA damage–repair pathways––more common in patients with prostate cancer than previously recognized–– and clinical trials with PARP inhibitors.
L. Michael Glodé, MD, of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, discusses study findings on adjuvant androgen deprivation vs mitoxantrone plus prednisone plus ADT in high-risk prostate cancer patients following radical prostatectomy. (Abstract 2)
Charles G. Drake, MD, PhD, of Columbia University Medical Center, summarizes his keynote lecture on immunotherapy as a new frontier in prostate cancer and its synergistic use with traditional treatments.
Joshua Armenia, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses new information that is changing the understanding of prostate cancer, including the identification of a new subclass, which represents 21% of cases, and the discovery of recurrently mutated cancer pathways not previously implicated in prostate cancer (Abstract 131).
Analysis of free-floating cancer DNA from blood samples has yielded leads for new prostate cancer treatment targets. Using a commercially available “liquid biopsy” test in patients with advanced prostate cancer, researchers found a number of genetic changes in cell-free, circulating...
A new method has been found for identifying therapeutic targets in cancers lacking specific key tumor suppressor genes. The process, which located a genetic site for the most common form of prostate cancer, has potential for developing precision therapy for other cancers, such as breast, brain, and ...
The field of prostate cancer is being energized by discoveries in genetics, novel imaging techniques, and the potential of checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of prostate cancer. Not all of these advances are currently clinically actionable, but all have the potential to change clinical...
In a Danish study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Klemann et al found a low risk of prostate cancer–specific mortality in men with benign initial transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy sets. The risk was particularly low among those with lower prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Study...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Shipley et al in the NRG Oncology Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), the final analysis of the phase III RTOG 9601 trial showed that the addition of antiandrogen therapy with bicalutamide to radiation therapy significantly improves overall ...
In the UK PROMIS study reported in The Lancet, Ahmed et al found that use of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MP-MRI) might reduce the need for transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided prostate biopsy and may improve detection of clinically significant prostate cancer. Study Details In the ...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Royce et al found that a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir > 0.5 ng/mL may be a dominant risk factor for all-cause mortality after radiation therapy and androgen-deprivation therapy in men with localized unfavorable-risk prostate cancer. Study Details...
In a matched retrospective analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Zhao et al identified and validated a 24-gene predictor of response to postoperative radiotherapy in prostate cancer. Felix Y. Feng, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, is the corresponding author of The Lancet...
Scientists have been able to validate the recently proposed five-tiered system of Gleason grade grouping using population-based data. The study, led by Grace Lu-Yao, PhD, MPH, Associate Director for Population Science at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University and Vice...
As some national guidelines now recommend against routine prostate cancer screening, the overall rate of men receiving treatment for the disease declined 42% between 2007 and 2012, a new study published by Borza et al in Health Affairs found. The decline reflects efforts to decrease overdiagnosis...
In a European phase III trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Azzouzi et al found that padeliporfin vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy was associated with a reduced rate of disease progression vs active surveillance in men with low-risk prostate cancer. Study Details In the open-label trial, ...
The diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer have long been a source of controversy among the oncology community, the political sector, and patient advocacy groups. Most notably, the decision to biopsy a man’s prostate gland rests largely on his prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test numbers, the...
In a UK population–based study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Khosrow-Khavar et al found no significant association between the use of androgen-deprivation therapy and the risk for dementia in patients with prostate cancer. The study involved a cohort of 30,903 men with newly...
Chambers et al found that a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy intervention did not improve measures of distress or anxiety vs minimally enhanced usual care among men with advanced prostate cancer, according to an Australian study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. In the study, 189...
In the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial finasteride was found to reduce the risk of low-grade prostate cancer but to have no effect on overall survival. Results of the trial, in which 18,880 men were randomized to receive finasteride or placebo for 7 years, were reported in 2003. In a recent study...
The 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress revealed many important positive findings from key trials in a number of tumor types, but many highly anticipated phase III trials in advanced disease failed to meet their primary endpoints. The ASCO Post has summarized several of these ...
Researchers have discovered that a marker found on aggressive prostate cancer cells could also be used as a way to guide treatments to the cancer, according to new research presented by Luxton et al at the 2016 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool, United...
A new analysis indicates that many men with prostate cancer obtain second opinions from urologists before starting treatment, but surprisingly, second opinions are not associated with changes in treatment choice or improvements in perceived quality of prostate cancer care. Published by...
In a study of data from men in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Kelly et al found that body mass index (BMI) increases during adulthood that lead to obesity are associated with an increased risk of...
In a single-center analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Nead et al found that the use of androgen-deprivation therapy for prostate cancer was associated with an increased risk for dementia. The study involved electronic medical record data from the Stanford University Health System from 1994 to...
Medical researchers at Indiana University (IU) Bloomington have found evidence for a link between prostate cancer, which affects millions of men aged 50 and older, and Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that affects children and young adults. The results of the study, reported by Kedage et al...
In a matched retrospective analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Zhao et al identified and validated a 24-gene predictor of response to postoperative radiotherapy in prostate cancer. The analysis involved data from patients from five published U.S. studies (cohort, case-cohort, and...
Robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy and open radical retropubic prostatectomy yielded similar domain-specific quality-of-life or pathologic outcomes at 12 weeks in men with newly diagnosed, clinically localized prostate cancer, according to the results of a randomized phase III trial reported ...
Members of the oncology community have long complained that prostate cancer lags behind breast cancer regarding biomarkers for prognosis and treatment, but the good news is that this gap is narrowing. In the largest study of its kind to date, presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American...
Giving patients larger fractions of radiation over shorter periods (ie, hypofractionation) is gaining ground in several types of cancers. This approach is attractive for patients’ convenience, shortening treatment and travel times, and also for resource utilization. Several studies have shown that ...
Ipilimumab (Yervoy) was associated with prolonged progression-free survival—but not overall survival—compared with placebo in men with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic chemotherapy-naive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer without visceral metastases, according to a...