THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK

Today’s news reports address:

• Daily fat intake and risk for prostate cancer
• Salvage RALP as a treatment for patients in biochemical relapse after first-line EBRT
• Phase II data on fenretinide as a possible treatment for HRPC

Lophatananon et al. have published data from a population-based, case-control study with 512 cases and 838 controls, conducted in the United Kingdom between 1999 and 2004. Their data suggest that daily fat intake is significantly associated with risk for early onset prostate cancer. All patients in this study were ≤ 60 years of age. The authors argue that dietary fat intake is a modifiable risk factor for prostate cancer, particularly in younger men. Subset data in this study confirmed this risk for daily intake of saturated fatty acids (SFAs), mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), as well as for total dietary fat intake.

Strope et al. have reported data from a second study showing that robot-assisted laproscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) is a feasible technique in men who have a rising PSA after first-line treatment with external beam radiation therapy. They note, however, that the use of RALP in this setting has a significant risk for complications and side effects — as has been the case with open salvage surgery. An earlier paper reporting similar results was published by Eandi et al. at the end of last year.

The Australian Cancer Therapeutics Research Group has published data indicating that the synthetic retinoid known as fenretinide has limited anti-tumor activity in patients with advanced, hormone refractory prostate cancer. Data from a Phase II trial in 27 patients at seven different cancers showed that high-dose fenretinide (at 900 mg/m² twice daily for 7 of 21 days) induced a 50 percent decrease in PSA levels in just 1/27 patients. The authors conclude that further evaluation of fenretinide in treatment of HRPC is not warranted.

Filed under: Drugs in development, Management, Prevention, Risk, Treatment | Tagged: fat intake, fatty acids, fenretinide, MUFA, PUFA, RALP, robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy, salvage, SFA