Prostate Cancer News - Prostate Cancer Research Institute

The investigational vaccine known as PROSTVAC-VF appears to significantly prolong survival in patients with metastatic hormone-resistant prostate cancer, according to the results of a Phase II study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1

The prostate is a male sex gland responsible for producing fluid that forms semen. It is located below the bladder, in front of the rectum, and surrounds the urethra. Prostate cancer occurs when the cells in the prostate gland grow out of control.

Prostate cancer is a hormonally sensitive disease that can be controlled for long periods with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). When prostate cancer stops responding to this treatment is it referred to as hormone refractory (or castration-resistant) prostate cancer. Metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer is a challenging form of the disease to treat because the cancer has spread to distant sites in the body and does not respond to treatment with hormonal therapy.

PROSTVAC-VF is an investigational cancer vaccine that is designed to stimulate the immune system to attack targets found on cancer cells.

A double-blind, Phase II study included 122 patients with metastatic hormone-resistant prostate cancer who were randomly assigned to receive PROSTVAC-VF (82 patients) or placebo (40 patients). The primary endpoint of the study was progression-free survival, which was shown to be similar between the two groups. However, three years following the study, the median overall survival was significantly longer in the vaccine group (25.1 months) compared with the placebo group (16.6 months).

The vaccine was well-tolerated, with most adverse events being injection site reactions. The researchers concluded that PROSTVAC-VF was associated with a 44% reduction in death rate and an 8.5-month improvement in median overall survival. These data will need to be confirmed in a larger, Phase III study.

1 Kantoff PW, Schuetz TJ, Blumenstein BA, et al. Overall survival analysis of a phase II randomized controlled trial of a poxviral-based PSA-targeted immunotherapy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2010; 28: 1099-1105.

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		General Prostate Cancer News PCRI is pleased to provide general prostate cancer news items courtesy of CancerConsultants.com Inc. whose mission is “to empower patients with current information on all aspects of the management of Prostate Cancer in order to provide support and hope, as well as to facilitate informed decisions”. Preliminary Results Indicate that an Investigational Vaccine May Extend Survival in Hormone-resistant Prostate Cancer The investigational vaccine known as PROSTVAC-VF appears to significantly prolong survival in patients with metastatic hormone-resistant prostate cancer, according to the results of a Phase II study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1 The prostate is a male sex gland responsible for producing fluid that forms semen. It is located below the bladder, in front of the rectum, and surrounds the urethra. Prostate cancer occurs when the cells in the prostate gland grow out of control. Prostate cancer is a hormonally sensitive disease that can be controlled for long periods with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). When prostate cancer stops responding to this treatment is it referred to as hormone refractory (or castration-resistant) prostate cancer. Metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer is a challenging form of the disease to treat because the cancer has spread to distant sites in the body and does not respond to treatment with hormonal therapy. PROSTVAC-VF is an investigational cancer vaccine that is designed to stimulate the immune system to attack targets found on cancer cells. A double-blind, Phase II study included 122 patients with metastatic hormone-resistant prostate cancer who were randomly assigned to receive PROSTVAC-VF (82 patients) or placebo (40 patients). The primary endpoint of the study was progression-free survival, which was shown to be similar between the two groups. However, three years following the study, the median overall survival was significantly longer in the vaccine group (25.1 months) compared with the placebo group (16.6 months). The vaccine was well-tolerated, with most adverse events being injection site reactions. The researchers concluded that PROSTVAC-VF was associated with a 44% reduction in death rate and an 8.5-month improvement in median overall survival. These data will need to be confirmed in a larger, Phase III study. Reference: 1 Kantoff PW, Schuetz TJ, Blumenstein BA, et al. Overall survival analysis of a phase II randomized controlled trial of a poxviral-based PSA-targeted immunotherapy in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2010; 28: 1099-1105. Latest Prostate Cancer News 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. Study Evaluates Incidence of Lymphedema Resulting from Cancer Treatment (8/9/2010) A systematic review of 47 studies evaluating treatment for melanoma, head and neck cancer, genitourinary cancers, gynecologic cancers, and sarcoma indicates that lymphedema is a common side effect of treatment for these diseases. Study Explores Prostate Cancer Among Men with Low PSA Levels (7/30/2010) In a large U.S. cancer database, 14% of prostate cancer diagnoses occurred among men with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of 4.0 ng/mL or lower. More than half of these men had cancer that was considered “low-risk,” but roughly three-quarters were treated aggressively with radical prostatectomy or radiation therapy. These results were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Prostate Cancer News Archives » Copyright ©2005 Cancer Consultants.com. All Rights Reserved. General Prostate Cancer News Archives
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