Prostate Cancer

“There really are many considerations regarding germline testing, results interpretation, implications for treatment or screening, and the familial hereditary implications of this whole field. Because of that, understanding the role of genetic counseling is critical, and also understanding the interplay with various somatic testing approaches is also really important,” says Veda N. Giri, MD.

“We [at GenesisCare] would be really interested in looking at strategies to identify men that we think are aggressive but localized and offer them a chance to do a shorter course hormonal therapy, which is going to substantially improve quality of life without losing on the efficacy end,” says Bridget F. Koontz, MD.

The procedure involves using MRI/ultrasound fusion imaging technology to direct focal ablation of prostate tissue using nanoparticle-directed laser ablation.

“There's been a lot of evidence over the past few years that there's certainly a…correlation between dietary intake and risk of prostate cancer, [but] there's really not a whole lot of data on risk of development of lethal prostate cancer,” says Nima Sharifi, MD.

In a recent study published in Urology, a team of investigators compared opioid prescribing patterns among urologists around the world.

“The RTOG-0815 study [of dose-escalated RT plus androgen suppression] has provided...data to have an intelligent conversation with our patients and provide them numbers so that they know what to expect,” says Bridget F. Koontz, MD.

In this interview, Michael Schweizer, MD, highlights a study of olaparib plus bipolar androgen therapy in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

A phase 2a efficacy analysis has been launched exploring the combination of the novel oral immune activator BXCL701 and pembrolizumab in prostate cancer patients with de novo or treatment-emergent small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma.

“After 2 years, patients reported no increase in urinary or bowel side effects with the shorter course and its effectiveness was comparable,” said Mark Buyyounouski, MD.

“Patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer we know benefit from both escalation of radiotherapy dose as well as from the addition of androgen suppression. Technically, we still don’t know if we need both,” said Daniel Krauss, MD.

Based on long-term data and clinical experience treating advanced prostate cancer with androgen receptor inhibitors, Drs Julie N. Graff and Benjamin H. Lowentritt suggest ideas for future study.

Considerations that factor into which androgen receptor inhibitor is selected as treatment for nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Judd W. Moul, MD discusses data on real-world effectiveness and treatment adherence of apalutamide in non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients that was presented at the American Urological Association 2021 Annual Meeting.

Michael A. Palese, MD, weighs in on the stigmas associated with robotic surgery.

“Our study provides important findings that help to address the lack of data in Black/African American patients who are disproportionally affected by prostate cancer,” said Neal D. Shore, MD.

Michel Pavic, MD, discusses how the combination of masitinib with docetaxel could be a new first-line treatment option for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

“I think these results are very encouraging [in] that we may be able to bridge the gap in prostate cancer treatment, in which we're selective [and] prostate gland-sparing,” says Behfar Ehdaie, MD, MPH.

Active surveillance is no longer the preferred management strategy for low-risk prostate cancer, according to the updated NCCN guideline.

“I want to reiterate that this study doesn't necessarily say that 1 approach is better than the other, but it definitely does reinforce some advantages of robotic surgery that have been shown not just in this study, but in other studies as well,” says Peter Chang, MD, PhD.

“The quality of life overall between the 2 approaches was very similar,” says Peter Chang, MD, PhD.

“I think the key [is to not] get rid of financial incentives. I don't think that's possible. [Rather, we should] align financial incentives [so] that [we] can promote what is best for patients,” says Lillian Y. Lai, MD.

"This large cohort study confirms the safety of AS, as shown in the low rate of metastasis or death, including those who subsequently converted to treatment," writes Badar M. Mian, MD.

"Perhaps there is another Nobel Prize waiting to be had if we could reduce the cardiovascular effect of ADT and unlock the answer to the controversy surrounding the comparative safety and impact on cardiovascular health between GnRH agonists and antagonists," writes Michael S. Cookson, MD, MMHC.

In this interview, Ardeshir (Art) Rastinehad, DO, discusses the current state of focal therapy in prostate cancer, the role of fusion biopsy in pushing the treatment forward, and what institutions looking to implement focal therapy should know.

"What will probably be surprising to the reader is that patients managed in markets with higher average prices for prostatectomy were not more likely to undergo treatment," says Lillian Y. Lai, MD.