THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK

Today’s news reports address:

• Barbers as prostate risk educators in the black community
• The need for a Phase III trial of docetaxel + carboplatin in CRPC

Fraser et al. have documented the interest among and the potential of barbers as lay prostate cancer risk educators among the African American and the Afro-Caribbean communities (at least in Brooklyn, New York). This is not exactly a new idea, and at least one patient advocacy organization has been running an educational initiative for the black community through barbers since 2004. However, the new study does confirm the potential of such initiatives.

Regan et al. have reported data from a meta-analysis of seven small trials using combinations of docetaxel and carboplatin for the treatment of men with castration-resistant prostate cancer. On the basis of the result of this meta-analysis, they suggest that a randomized, Phase III clinical trials is needed to compare treatment with docetaxel + carboplatin vs. docetaxel alone in such patients. The meta-analysis appears to show the potential of extended survival with the combination of a taxane and caroboplatin.

Filed under: Diagnosis, Management, Risk, Treatment | Tagged: barber, carboplatin, castration-resistant prostate cancer, CRPC, docetaxel, educator, risk |