Immuno-therapy may prolong lives of men with advanced prostate cancer

MEDPAGE TODAY: A cellular immuno-therapy appears to prolong survival among men with metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer, researchers report. READ MORE>

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Prostate cancer drug market will double in value in next decade

PR NEWSWIRE: The launch and uptake of nine emerging therapies will drive the prostate cancer drug market to more than double, from nearly $4 billion in 2009 to $8.4 billion in 2019 in the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and Japan. READ MORE>

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Drug/vaccine combo experiment being tried on advanced prostate cancer

URO TODAY: An experiment that combines a standard advanced prostate cancer drug treatment with a vaccine to assist the immune system has just begun in the US. READ MORE>

Looking to harness the body’s own immune system to target prostate cancer that has spread to the bones (metastatic) and is unresponsive to standard treatment, investigators have just launched a clinical trial combining vaccine and radiation drug therapy.

The goal is to see if disease progression will be further delayed by adding two different experimental injections to the standard treatment.

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Problems delivering genes to target cells must be solved for immunotherapy to work

URO TODAY: Technological difficulties must be addressed before an efficient and safe gene medicine using immunotherapy is achieved (primarily by developing a means of delivering genes to the target cells or tissue safely and efficiently). READ MORE>

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Prostate cancer cells in mice turn anti-tumour T-cells into cells that suppress immune system

URO TODAY: Researchers have discovered that prostate tumours in mice can cause immune cells known as CD8+ T cells to change to cells that suppress immune responses. READ MORE>

This finding, by researchers at the US National Cancer Institute, has important implications for the design of immune-based therapies for cancer.

Future work by this team will focus on defining the mechanisms by which  gain their suppressive functions.

“This will enhance our ability to generate more effective anti-tumor T cell responses in mice, which then might be translated to human.”

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Widespread testing of new therapies for prostate cancer

URO TODAY: In the last several years, great strides have been made in our understanding of the biological and molecular mechanisms driving prostate cancer growth and progression, and this has resulted in widespread clinical testing of numerous new targeted therapies. READ MORE>

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Leading Kiwi scientist will test his own prostate cancer treatment discovery on himself

PROSTABLOG NZ: A leading NZ scientist has discovered a novel compound he believes will suppress the prostate cancer that is killing him.

Dr James Watson (right) – a former professor at the University of California, now back in NZ – discovered too late he has advanced cancer, so has embarked (with a fellow Kiwi scientist, who also has advanced prostate cancer) on a research project to stop his deadly disease.

He believes he has identified a treatment that will stimulate his immune system to fight the cancer, which has spread beyond his prostate.

He has decided to test the compound on himself, with the assistance of another eminent Auckland medical specialist.

His quest is driven partly by the altruism of finding a viable treatment for all men whose prostate cancer moves to a stage that defies treatment, and partly by his anger at not being diagnosed early when the disease could have been treated easily.

He saw several GPs before one offered him a PSA test, by which time his level was a lethal 987.

He and colleague Dr Richard Forster, an expert on immunology and plant biology, have set up a company to develop their discoveries.

They revealed their progress at the annual conference of the NZ Prostate Cancer Foundation in Napier.

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