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Latest Prostate Cancer News
Watchful Waiting May Be Sufficient in Low-risk Prostate Cancer Active surveillance—sometimes referred to as “watchful waiting”—may be acceptable treatment for low-risk prostate cancer, according to the results of a study published early online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.[1] Men with early-stage prostate cancer have the option of being treated with radiation therapy, surgery, or no therapy until symptoms appear (watchful waiting). The choice of treatment is difficult, as there is no clear proof that early treatment prolongs survival compared with treatment that is deferred until there is evidence of disease progression. In part, this is because prostate cancer often occurs in older individuals who die of other causes before they die of prostate cancer. Watchful waiting may help some men avoid unnecessary treatment and potentially long-lasting side effects. An observational study in Sweden included 6,849 patients, age 70 or younger with localized prostate cancer; 2,686 of these patients were considered low-risk (stage T1, Gleason score 2-6 and PSA <10 ng/mL). Among this cohort, 2,021 patients received active surveillance (or watchful waiting), 3,399 underwent radical prostatectomy, and 1,429 received radiation therapy. After a median follow-up of 8.2 years, there were 413 deaths in the surveillance group (20.4%), 286 deaths in the prostatectomy group (8.4%), and 196 deaths in the radiation group (13.7%). There was a much higher rate of death from competing causes (i.e., causes other than prostate cancer) in the surveillance group (19.2%) compared with the prostatectomy group (6.8%) and radiation group (10.9%). This suggests that perhaps patients with an already shorter life expectancy were more often treated with surveillance rather than surgery or radiation. When analyzing the data for the entire cohort (both low and intermediate-risk), the cumulative 10-year prostate cancer-specific mortality rate was 3.6% in the surveillance group compared with 2.7% in the surgery/radiation group. Among the low-risk group, the 10-year prostate cancer-specific mortality was 2.4% in the surveillance group and 0.7% in the surgery/radiation group. Based on these data, the researchers concluded that surveillance may be a suitable treatment option for men with low-risk prostate cancer. Reference: [1] Stattin P, Holmberg E, Johansson JE, et al. Outcomes in localized prostate cancer: National Prostate Cancer Register of Sweden follow-up study. Journal of the National Cancer Institute [early online publication]. June 18, 2010.
Study Evaluates Biochemical Recurrence and Mortality in Men with Prostate Cancer (9/9/2010)
A biochemical recurrence refers to an increase in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after prostate cancer treatment. In a recent study of U.S. veterans, biochemical recurrence was linked with an increased risk of death from prostate cancer. Nevertheless, a majority of men in this population who had a biochemical recurrence did not die of prostate cancer. These findings were recently published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
Brothers of Prostate Cancer Patients Undergo More Diagnostic Testing (9/7/2010)
Some of the elevated risk of prostate cancer among those with a family history of the disease may be due to increased prostate cancer testing and detection in this population. These findings were recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Death from Other Causes Among Men with Early-stage Prostate Cancer (8/26/2010)
Among men with early-stage prostate cancer, assessment of other health problems may help guide prostate cancer treatment decisions; men who are likely to die of causes other than prostate cancer may not benefit from aggressive prostate cancer treatment. These findings were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Study Evaluates Physician Use of Finasteride for Prostate Cancer Prevention (8/18/2010)
Recent research indicates that 64% of urologists and 80% of primary care physicians surveyed do not prescribe finasteride for prevention of prostate cancer in high-risk men. These findings were recently published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Provenge® for Hormone-refractory Prostate Cancer (8/11/2010)
Among men with metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer, the immunotherapy agent Provenge® (sipuleucel-T) improves survival by roughly four months. The findings from this Phase III study were recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
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