THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK

The following abstracts of papers on prostate cancer are given in the abstract listings for the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) as “publication only” abstracts but will not actually be presented at the meeting:

• Mizutani et al. (“Significance of the expression of thymidylate synthase in prostate cancer”) have shown that expression of the enzyme thymidylate synthase (TS) may be a prognostic parameter for prostate cancer patients undergoing radical prostatectomy.
• von Boehmer et al. (“Cancer testis antigen expression and immune responses by prostate cancer patients: implications for prognosis and immunotherapy”) report that cancer testis (CT) antigens are prognostic markers, frequently inducing immune responses and may be suitable for immunotherapeutic intervention in patients with prostate cancer.
• Culig et al. (“Effects of sorafenib on proliferation of hormone-sensitive and hormone-insensitive prostate cancer cells”) report that sorafenib caused inhibition of growth of prostate cancer cells regardless of their androgen sensitivity.
• Libener et al. (“Sensitivity and specificity of osteopontin [OPN] versus prostate-specific antigen [PSA] in prostate carcinoma[(PCa]: a case-control study”) suggest that OPN and PSA are not correlated and therefore their combined evaluation could provide novel insights into the natural history of prostate cancer.
• Storhoff et al. (“Detection of prostate cancer recurrence using an ultrasensitive nanoparticle-based PSA assay”) discuss the development of a new and even more ultrasensitive form of PSA test (although the clinical value of such a test may be open to some question).
• Alaoui-Jamali et al. (“A novel selective therapeutic targeting heme oxygenase-1 revealed a potent antimetastatic activity in androgen-refractory human prostate cancer models”) have reported on a molecule (OB-24) that appears to inhibit activity of the enzyme heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and may have anti-metastatic clinical activity in hormone-refractory prostate cancer.
• Okihara et al. (“Prognostic outcome in Japanese men with prostate cancer treated with androgen-deprivation therapy [ADT] alone: data from multi-institutional cooperative study in Kyoto Prostate Cancer Registry [KPCR]“) have reported data on the use of androgen deprivation therapy as first line treatment in 373 Japanese men with prostate cancer, including men with a wide spectrum of clinical stages and PSA levels at diagnosis.
• Carreca et al. (“Impact of VEGF and CgA as new predictive tools in management of elderly hormone-refractory prostate cancer [HRPC] patients”) report that serum CgA and VEGF levels may have utility in identification of HRPC patients who have a higher probability of clinical benefit from a docetaxel-based treatment in combination with a somatostatin analog.
• Ponsky et al. (“Stereotactic robotic radiosurgery for localized prostate cancer: initial evaluation of acute toxicities”) have reported the short-term adverse events associated with early use of CyberKnife sterotactic radiation in their series of of 22 patients with apparently low and intermediate risk prostate cancer.
• Gravis et al. (“External validation of a nomogram predicting survival in men with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer”) have validated a nomogram developed earlier by Armstrong et al. for the prediction of survival of men with metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer.
• Kubicek et al. (“Combined brachytherapy and external beam radiation for prostate cancer in a community setting”) have reported data from what they claim is the largest series to date of patients treated with a combination of brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy.
• Hoffman and D’Amico (“Prostate cancer screening practice among men age 75 and older: results from a national survey”) have used data from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey to evaluate the need for PSA testing in men of ≥ 75 years of age.
• Gernone et al. (“Prognostic role of somatostatin receptor subtypes in human prostate cancer”) have shown that somatostatin receptor subtype expression is significantly correlated with overall survival in men with primary prostate cancer and neuroendocine differentiation.
• Dickstein et al. (“Metastatic prostate cancer at diagnosis: clinical presentation in the post-PSA era”) identified just 61 patients initially diagnosed at a US inner city hospital with metastatic prostate cancer between 2003 and 2008.
• Granberg et al. (“Down-staging of locally advanced prostate cancer with anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody prior to radical prostatectomy”) have demonstrated true down-staging of locally advanced prostate cancer in 5 patients through the use of neoadjuvant androgen ablation in combination with MDX-010 therapy.
• Hayes et al. (“Acupuncture for hot flashes for prostate cancer patients”) have reported additional data that show the potential of acupuncture to manage hot flashes in some men being treated with ADT.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | 2009, abstracts, ASCO