Vaccine Therapy Trials Show Promise
For Men with Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer
Therapeutic vaccines to treat prostate cancer offer a
promising treatment option for patients with hormone refractory prostate
cancer (HRPC). Investigational vaccine treatments have shown encouraging
results in clinical trials, and several vaccines are now in Phase 3
trials for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer.
What is Vaccine Therapy for Prostate Cancer?
Vaccine therapy involves receiving a vaccination, either
an injection or an infusion, that causes the patient to develop
an immune reaction against prostate cancer. Vaccine therapy
is designed to use a patient's immune systems to target, and,
in essence destroy his prostate cancer. Unlike chemotherapy,
which involves administering toxic agents, the goal of vaccine therapy
is to enable the body to fight cancer like an infection, with potentially
minimal toxicity.
Genetic marker shows higher prostate cancer risk
NEW YORK (AP) - Scientists have identified a common
genetic marker that signals a
60 percent heightened risk of
prostate cancer in men who
carry it and it may help explain
why black men are unusually
prone to the disease, a new
study says.
The DNA variant may play a
role in about 8 percent of prostate cancers in men of European extraction
and 16 percent of the cancers in blacks, researchers said.
The study was published
online Sunday by Nature
Genetics and will appear in the
journal's June issue. The work
is reported by Kari Stefansson
and colleagues at deCode
genetics in Reykjavik, Iceland,
and scientists elsewhere.
The variant is about twice as
common in blacks as whites, so
that May contribute to the
higher incidence of prostate
cancer in blacks, the researchers said.
Stefansson said in a statement that deCode plans to use
the discovery to develop a
genetic test that, might help
doctors decide how closely to
follow men at high risk and
how to treat prostate cancer
cases. The study indicated the
variant might be associated
with more aggressive forms of
the disease.
It's not clear whether the
heightened risk comes from the variant itself or from
another that lies nearby on
chromosome 8.
In general, men run a 1-in-6
chance of developing prostate
cancer at some point in their
lives. The risk is greater for
those who are older, black or
have a brother or father who's
had the disease. More than
230,000 new cases are
expected this year in the
United States, with about
27,000 deaths.
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PROSTATE CANCER PATIENT
SUPPORT 1-800-80-Us TOO
COUNSELING HELPS
SEX LIFE AFTER
PROSTATE CANCER
Even a few counseling sessions on
sex after prostate cancer can help
improve a couple's sex life, at least
in the short term, research hints.
Researchers found that among 84
prostate cancer survivors, those
who completed four therapy sessions -- whether they attended
alone or with their partners -- reported better sexual functioning 3
months later. Similarly, their wives
and partners said their sex lives
were more satisfying.
These improvements, however, began to wane 6 months after therapy.
The bottom line, according to the
study authors, is that while counseling can help couples rekindle their
sexual relationship after prostate
cancer, a lingering question is how
to make the benefits last.
Dr. Andrea L. Canada and her colleagues at the University of Texas
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in
Houston report the findings in the
December 15, 2005 issue of the
journal Cancer.
Sexual dysfunction is a common
side effect of surgery and radiation
treatment for prostate cancer. Studies have consistently found that
the large majority of men have erectile
dysfunction (ED) after treatment,
while many may also have a low
libido and trouble reaching orgasm.
Medications, like Viagra, can help
some patients, but ED caused by
prostate cancer treatment does not
respond as well to drugs as other
forms of ED do, Canada and her
colleagues note.
To see whether counseling sessions could help couples improve
their sex life, the researchers randomly assigned 84 men and their
partners to one of two groups. In
one group, men attended counseling alone, while couples in the
second group went to sessions together.
Counseling focused on open communication between partners, treatment
options for ED and how to enjoy sex despite ED. Both groups
received four sessions plus
"homework" assignments.
Immediately following treatment
and 3 months later, both men and
their partners reported improvements in their sex life, regardless
of which group they were in. In
addition, more men began using
ED treatments - more than 50 percent after counseling, versus 31
percent before.
However, the improvements both
partners reported in their sex life
had begun to wane by the 6-month
mark, the study found. Women, in
particular, seemed happiest immediately after the counseling sessions
ended.
It's possible, the researchers speculate, that over time, couples went
back to their "perfunctory" sexual
routine, especially as more men
received treatment for their erectile
problems. But the success of counseling, according to Canada and
her colleagues depends on men
being able to shed their beliefs
about the all-importance of the
erection and the ability of a "magic
pill" to restore their sex life.
"It is not surprising that men and
women prefer the magic pill," the
researchers write, "but if we can
create more realistic expectations,
perhaps they will be willing to try
interventions that focus less on
penile rigidity and more on relationship flexibility."
Reuters Health, 15 December 2005 |