Nowadays the scientists use the DNA micro-array technology for studying many genes at the same time and discover those that are related to prostate cancer. This screening could save a lot of time and could replace the currently used PSA blood test.
DNA micro-array identified a product of one gene (named EZH2) that seems to appear more frequently in advanced prostate cancers than in early staged cancers. Scientists want to find out if this gene product signalizes that the cancer is more aggressive or not. This could help doctors decide whether that form of cancer needs treatment or must only be supervised carefully.
Researchers have discovered that tomato and soybeans contain some substances that are useful in preventing prostate cancer (lycopenes and isoflavones). Vitamins are also useful: vitamin D, E and selenium decrease the risk of prostate cancer.
A new clinical trial has been developed in order to see if patients with prostate cancer respond to medication that decreases the level of the androgen hormone called DHT. These drugs (Finasteride and dutasteride) have been used until now only for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).
Staging prostate cancer is very important for doctors because it helps them institute the most proper treatment. CT and MRI are not so efficient in this case. Instead, enhanced MRI is quite helpful because it detects the possible cancer cells in the lymph nodes.
As a possibility of treatment is surgery. The radical prostatectomy could have some risks. If the nerves that control erection have to be removed the man will end up being impotent. Doctors are testing a replacement of those nerves with the Sural nerve but they are not positive about the usefulness of this technique.
Radiation therapy is also possible. If using conformal radiation therapy (CRT) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) the radiation will be directed straight to the prostate gland and affect less other normal tissues.
Chemotherapy seems to be effective in prostate cancer too. Chemotherapy drugs can be successfully used in combination with other drugs like: Taxotere associated with Calcitriol, a form of vitamin D.
A vaccine has also been tested with amazing results on prostate cancer patients. This vaccine is not like the others that are designed to prevent a disease. This is made to treat advanced prostate cancer by increasing the immune system's response to cancer cells. The vaccine has been made out of a genetically engineered protein and a dendritic cell provided from the patient's bloodstream. Three shots of the vaccine (Provenge) were made over the course of a month. The immune system will react and will activate immune T-cells to find and destroy the cancer cells.
Monoclonal antibody treatment can also be applied in this case. They stimulate the body's natural cell-killing mechanism or they carry a radioactive molecule that will destroy the cancerous cell.
Another treatment is using angiogenesis inhibitors. These drugs prevent the growth of blood vessels and so, the tumor cells will not be nourished any more.
Sometimes the prostate cancer spreads in the body and affects the bones. For stopping the bone pain doctors use radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and CT. with this technique they will destroy the tumor by heating it.
For recovering patients are advised to adopt a certain lifestyle. They must not eat meat, fish, eggs, or dairy products, keep an active lifestyle and even perform yoga.
Diagnosis Of Prostate Cancer
A new study has been made in California in order to see if the prostate vaccine against cancer is really useful. In July1, 2006 the Journal of Clinical Oncology published the first conclusions of this research. Scientists said that the rate of survival increased by four and a half months in those who were administered the cancer vaccine compared with those who got the placebo.
The study was made on patients with asymptomatic metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) and was designed for observing if the disease progression will be delayed and patients will survive longer.
The vaccine was well tolerated by patients and the side effects were mild: fever and chills.
Eric J. Small, MD, UCSF professor of medicine and urology, along with other 19 US institutions conducted the study which was funded by the Dendreon Corporation (the developer of the vaccine) based in Seattle, Washington.
Small declared that this trial is an important one because it will open the way to other treatments regarding prostate cancer.
The vaccine, called Sipuleucel-T was created to stimulate T-cell immunity to prostatic acid phosphatase.
127 patients were included in the study. Every two weeks they were meant to receive three transfusions of sipuleucel-T or placebo. The conclusions were that 115 patients of this group had progressive disease at the time of data analysis and all patients were followed for survival for 3 years.
For those treated with sipuleucel-T the median rate of survival was 25.9 months. For those who got a placebo treatment, the overall of survival was 21.4 months.
Small declared that: "We found that the time to disease progression for sipuleucel-T was 11.7 weeks compared to 10.0 weeks for placebo", showing that there are difficulties in using the disease progression as an intermediate marker for median survival of the affected people treated with immunotherapy.
The conclusions were that sipuleucel-T gives a survival advantage to patients with asymptomatic metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). These were the results for phase III trial.
The study for Phase I and II were also taken by Eric J. Small to be conducted at UCSF and everybody is anxious to hear the conclusions.
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