Chemo sessions up 25% in last two years, says NZ Health Minister

Publicly funded chemotherapy clinics in NZ have increased 25% in two years, to just over 57,000 outpatient sessions in public hospitals in the 2009/10 year, says Health Minister Tony Ryall. READ MORE>

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Viagra combined with chemo drug may be effective prostate cancer treatment

HEALTH NEWS TODAY: When combined with the erectile-dysfunction drug Viagra, a long-used chemotherapy drug called doxorubicin may be even more effective as a treatment for prostate cancer, according to a new study. READ MORE>

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New chemo drug for advanced prostate cancer approved by FDA

WALL ST JOURNAL: The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Jevtana, a chemotherapy drug used in combination with the steroid prednisone to treat men with advanced prostate cancer. READ MORE> and HERE>

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Abiraterone acetate: A promising drug for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer

URO TODAY:  Abiraterone acetate is a promising treatment for advanced prostate cancer patients and is being tested in a Phase III trial for men with progressive castration-resistant prostate cancer who have  not had chemotherapy.

A Phase III trial for patients following prior chemotherapy has been completed and is awaiting analysis. READ MORE>

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Expert panel says how prostate cancer treatments could be improved

URO TODAY:  The five main prostate cancer treatments can all have bad side effects, so a panel of 15 specialists have compared them and come up with some recommended improvements.

Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the tumours with the highest incidence in recent years. PC therapies have several adverse effects.

A panel consensus recommendation has been made to prevent or ameliorate complications in PC treatment to improve quality of life.

Fifteen specialists have met to analyse the different toxicities associated with PC treatment.

Each medical specialist searched National Library of Medicine PubMed citations about these secondary effects and his specialty from 1999 to 2009 to propose measures for their prevention/amelioration.

• Surgery is associated with incontinence and impotence.
• Radiotherapy can produce acute, late urological and gastrointestinal toxicity.
• Brachytherapy can produce acute urinary retention.
• Chemotherapy is associated with haematotoxicity. peripheral neuropathy and diarrhoea.
• And hormone therapy can produce osteoporosis, metabolic syndrome, cognitive and muscular alterations, cardiotoxicity, etc.

Improvement in surgical techniques and technology (IMRT/IGRT) can prevent surgical and radiotherapeutic toxicity, respectively.

Brachytherapy toxicity can be prevented with precise techniques to preserve the urethra.

Chemotherapy toxicity can be prevented with personalized schedules of treatment and close follow-up of iatrogenia

And hormone therapy toxicity can be prevented with close follow-up of possible secondary effects.

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Benefit seen in having chemo-radiation treatment prior to prostate removal

SCIENCE DAILY: A combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy given before prostate removal is safe and may have the potential to reduce cancer recurrence and improve patient survival. READ MORE>

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Experiment with chemo combination works for hormone refractory prostate cancer patients

URO TODAY: A combination of docetaxel/zoledronic/prednisone in chemotherapy for hormone refractory prostate cancer patients is safe and effective, say Indian researchers. For patients with a Gleason score less than 7, PSA declined more than 50% and those who received more than four cycles had significantly better survival. READ MORE>

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