Prostate Cancer

Inflammation may be the missing link between vitamin D and prostate cancer, new study findings from the University of Colorado Cancer Center in Denver suggest.

In this article, Robert A. Dowling, MD, reviews the challenges of implementing active surveillance in a practice as well as ways to surmount these obstacles.

In separate actions, the FDA allowed the marketing of a urinary prosthesis for women and approved a supplemental new drug application for a lymphatic mapping agent.

Palmetto GBA, a Medicare Administrative Contractor that assesses molecular diagnostic technologies, has issued a draft local coverage determination for the Prolaris prostate cancer test, Myriad Genetics, Inc. announced.

Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy is associated with a lower rate of blood transfusion and shorter length of stay compared to open surgery. However, the total first-year reimbursement is higher for RARP and there is no difference between the two procedures in the rate of postoperative complications or use of additional cancer treatment, according to an analysis of contemporary data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Medicare-linked database.

A new checklist-based assessment tool could prove to be useful for surgeons learning robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.

The application of dehydrated human amniotic membrane as a therapeutic patch covering the neurovascular bundle may have profound effects on the early recovery of erectile function in men undergoing nerve-sparing, robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, a retrospective study suggests.

Abiraterone acetate (ZYTIGA) as therapy for chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) improved overall survival by a statistically significant 19% compared with placebo in the final analysis of the phase III COU-AA-302 clinical trial.

The time is right for urologists to become familiar with all aspects of the use and delivery of these drugs.

A prostate cancer diagnostic test may have benefits beyond predicting tumor aggressiveness, a study presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress showed.

New study data confirm the ability of the ConfirmMDx genes to identify prostate cancer aggressiveness in diagnostic biopsies, researchers reported.

Abiraterone acetate (ZYTIGA) as therapy for chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer improved overall survival by a statistically significant 19% compared with placebo in the final analysis of the phase III COU-AA-302 clinical trial.

Drugs and devices in the pipeline from Repros Therapeutics, Bavarian Nordic, NxThera, Solace Therapeutics, Generex Biotechnology, Bioniche, OncoCyte, HistoSonics, and Pacific Edge.

The effect of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s controversial grade “D” recommendation regarding PSA-based screening for prostate cancer “has been minimal at best,” according to a research letter that also shows a “shocking” level of statewide variance in screening, a leading prostate cancer expert said.

The ConfirmMDx for Prostate Cancer test qualifies for Medicare coverage effective Nov. 3, 2014, MDxHealth SA announced, while the maker of a second test, the Decipher Prostate Cancer Classifier, has added a new preferred provider organization to expand coverage of that test.

Results of a study analyzing data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program add to evidence of race-related disparity in receipt of treatment for prostate cancer, but show that having health insurance reduces the difference in care.

Results of a phase II study from the Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Consortium show that abiraterone acetate (ZYTIGA) has modest clinical activity in men with progressive metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer previously treated with ketoconazole.

Inappropriate use of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist for androgen deprivation therapy of localized prostate cancer fell dramatically following implementation of reimbursement cuts mandated by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, but overuse remains problematic, according to research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago.

In this interview, Ian Thompson, MD, answers questions about the downside of diagnosing low-risk prostate cancer, the burdens of active surveillance and how to minimize them, and how his own approach to screening and biopsy have changed.

The Decipher Prostate Cancer Classifier test predicts disease aggressiveness, influences treatment decisions, and predicts which patients may benefit from post-prostatectomy radiation therapy, according to findings from three studies presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology annual meeting in San Francisco.

The FDA’s approval of enzalutamide (XTANDI) to treat metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) in the pre-chemotherapy setting is a potential game changer for both patients and treating physicians, especially urologists, according to leaders in the prostate cancer field.

Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients whose tumors contain the androgen receptor (AR)-V7 splice variant are less likely to respond to enzalutamide (XTANDI) and abiraterone acetate (ZYTIGA), recent study results indicate.

In these videos, H. Ballentine Carter, MD, discusses the evidence supporting active surveillance, and Leonard S. Marks, MD, and colleagues outline which men are good candidates for surveillance.

Men who eat over 10 portions a week of tomatoes have an 18% lower risk of developing prostate cancer, according to a newly published study from the United Kingdom.

As it becomes apparent that more prostate cancers are clinically insignificant than previously believed, the role of active surveillance in the management of men with low-risk prostate cancer merits expansion.