Author Interviews, Prostate Cancer, Weight Research / 01.11.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Reina Haque, PhD, MPH Research scientist, Kaiser Permanente Department of Research & Evaluation MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: The main study findings are that men who are overweight or obese when they are diagnosed with prostate cancer are more likely to die from the disease than men who are of healthy weight. In patients with more aggressive forms of prostate cancer, the researchers also found an even stronger correlation between obesity and mortality. The study was restricted to patients undergoing surgical treatment for prostate cancer, rather than other treatments such as radiation or hormone therapy. (more…)
Author Interviews, Duke, Prostate Cancer / 10.10.2013

Susan Halabi, PhD Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC 2771MedicalResearch.com Interview with Susan Halabi, PhD Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC 27710 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Halabi: The purpose of assessing surrogate endpoints is to allow for a more rapid and efficient determination of whether a given therapy provides clinical benefit to patients by prolonging their life. We sought to evaluate PSA kinetics as surrogate endpoints for overall survival (OS) in mCRPC patients who were receiving second line chemotherapy (cabazitaxel or mitoxantrone) following progression after docetaxel. Using different analytical approaches, we found that PSA declines within the first three months of treatment are not appropriate as surrogate markers of clinical benefit in men who were receiving second line chemotherapy. This analysis has important clinical care and study design implications:  it has become common to use ≥30% decline in PSA as a clinical trial endpoint for all patients with metastatic CRPC, based on the original front-line docetaxel data. The data presented in this study suggest that this is erroneous. Further we believe these data are important because they demonstrate that there are different disease states within the group of patients with “metastatic CRPC". To make the assumption that the same surrogate endpoint can be used across the board may seem like an obvious mistake, but permeates the literature. (more…)
Author Interviews, Prostate Cancer / 26.09.2013

Robert G Bristow MD, PhD, FRCPC Clinician-Scientist, Ontario Cancer Institute/Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Professor, Depts. of Radiation Oncology and Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto Director, Core I - STTARR Innovation Facility Canadian Cancer Society Research Scientist MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Robert G Bristow MD, PhD, FRCPC Clinician-Scientist, Ontario Cancer Institute/Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Professor, Depts. of Radiation Oncology and Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto Director, Core I - STTARR Innovation Facility Canadian Cancer Society Research Scientist http://www.uhnres.utoronto.ca/researchers/profile.php?lookup=645 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Bristow: We studied the more than 7 years of outcome of close to 250 patients with localized (intermediate risk) prostate cancer that received precision radiotherapy or surgery for cure. We found that up to one third of these patients fail initial radiotherapy or prostate surgery. By using a patient’s initial diagnostic core biopsy, we studied the DNA fingerprints of the tumors. We noticed a pattern in which the patients that had failed treatment had abnormal levels of breaks at sites within the chromosomes that are sensitive to DNA damage called, “common fragile sites” (CFS). These CFS break abnormalities have been linked to cancer in general and usually are associated with instability of the cell’s DNA-a phenomenon that is particularly associated with cancer. So patients who have unstable chromosomes are more likely to fail precision radiotherapy or surgery. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Lancet, Prostate Cancer, Sloan Kettering / 26.09.2013

Dr. Ethan Basch MD Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer CenterMedicalResearch.com Interview with Dr. Ethan Basch MD Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Basch: The primary clinical finding of this study is that treatment with abiraterone acetate delays the time until pain develops or worsens in men with advanced prostate cancer.  Furthermore, abiraterone delays the time until quality of life and functioning deteriorate, compared to placebo.  There is also a broader research finding of this study, which is that it is feasible to rigorously study the time until symptom progression in cancer clinical trials, which paves the way for future studies to use a similar approach. (more…)
Author Interviews, Prostate Cancer / 11.09.2013

David F Jarrard, MD Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs Professor of Urology John Livesey Chair in Urologic OncologyMedicalResearch.com Interview with: David F Jarrard, MD Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs Professor of Urology John Livesey Chair in Urologic Oncology   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Jarrard: We have developed and externally validated an accurate nomogram for predicting Gleason score 6 upgrading for use in low-risk prostate cancer patients.  This nomogram incorporates only variables available at the time of diagnosis and is unique in its assessment of clinical as well as pathological factors.  Furthermore, we externally validated this study in patients with Gleason 6 prostate cancer of which 90% met the D’Amico criteria for low-risk cancer at 2 other centers (total 2000 patients).  This nomogram will aid in the decision-making process of patients diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer. (more…)
Author Interviews, Coffee, Prostate Cancer, Stanford / 28.08.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Janet L. Stanford, MPH, PhD Full Member, Research Professor Co-Head, Program in Prostate Cancer Research Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 1100 Fairview Ave. N. M4-B874 Seattle, WA 98109-1024Janet L. Stanford, MPH, PhD Full Member, Research Professor Co-Head, Program in Prostate Cancer Research Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center 1100 Fairview Ave. N. M4-B874 Seattle, WA 98109-1024   MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Stanford: The main finding from our research is that one or more cups of coffee per day is associated with a 56% to 59% reduction in the risk of prostate cancer recurrence or progression in men diagnosed with this common disease.  In our cohort of prostate cancer patients, 61% reported drinking at least one cup of coffee per day, with 14% reporting drinking 4 or more cups per day.  The lower risk for prostate cancer recurrence/progression observed in coffee drinkers, however, was seen even for those who consumed only one cup per day, suggesting that even modest intake of coffee may offer health benefits for prostate cancer patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, JAMA, Nutrition, Prostate Cancer / 10.07.2013

Maarten C. Bosland, DVSc, PhD Professor of Pathology Department of Pathology University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine Chicago, IL 60612MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Maarten C. Bosland, DVSc, PhD Professor of Pathology Department of Pathology University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine Chicago, IL  60612 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Bosland: Daily consumption of a supplement containing soy protein isolate for two years following radical prostatectomy did not reduce recurrence of prostate cancer in men at high risk for this (radical prostatectomy is surgical removal of the prostate to treat prostate cancer). The study showed that this soy supplementation was safe. It is not clear whether this result indicates that soy does not prevent the development of prostate cancer, but men that have the disease probably do not benefit from soy supplementation. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Prostate Cancer, Stanford / 29.05.2013

MedicalResearch.com eInterview with Timothy J. Daskivich, MD Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars® University of California Los Angeles Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research 10940 Wilshire Blvd, 7th Floor Suite 710, Room 721 Los Angeles, California 90024 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?  Were any of the findings unexpected? Dr. Daskivich:  We found that age and a simple count of comorbidities were strongly predictive of likelihood of dying of causes other than prostate cancer.  When we put numbers to it, it was surprising how often older men with multiple comorbidities were dying of something else than their prostate cancer within 14 years of diagnosis.  For example, a 75-year old man with 3 or more comorbidities—diabetes, high blood pressure, and history of heart attack—had a probability of death from something other than CaP of 71% at 10 years.  For a 71-year old man with 3 or more comorbidities, the probability was 60%.  We compared that to the amount of time they were dying of prostate cancer, which was 3% for low-risk disease and 7% for intermediate-risk disease. (more…)