New Approach for Treating Recurrent Prostate Cancer on the HorizonJune 16, 2009New form of radiotherapy could revolutionize treatment for recurrent prostate cancer, say researchers at SNM's 56th Annual Meeting TORONTO-A new study shows that an alpha-particle emitting radiopeptide-radioactive material bound to a synthetic peptide, a component of protein-is effective for treating prostate cancer in mice, according to researchers at SNM's 56th Annual Meeting in Toronto. The results could eventually result in a significant breakthrough in prostate cancer treatment, especially for patients whose cancer recurs after the prostate is removed. "Our study shows that this novel form of treatment has the potential to target and destroy cancer cells with minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue," said Damian Wild, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland, lead author of the study. "Eventually, this therapy could give hope to some of the hardest-to-treat prostate cancer patients and also could be applied to other types of cancer." Every year, more than 186,000 men in the United States are newly diagnosed with prostate cancer. The most common types of treatment include surgical removal of some, or all, of the prostate, followed by radiation therapy. More than 30,000 men each year who have had their prostates removed experience recurrence of the cancer. In most of these cases, the disease cannot be localized and treated adequately with conventional treatments; therefore, a systemic treatment that efficiently kills small tumors is needed. Because tumor cells readily bind with certain peptides, researchers have been able to develop highly specific radiopeptides that bind with tumor cells and treat them using specific therapeutic radioactive substances attached to the radiopeptide. Prostate cancer cells-and many other types of cancer cells-have an overabundance of gastrin-releasing peptide receptors, making the cancer a strong candidate for treatment with radiopeptides. The study compared two different types of radiopeptides. One group of mice was injected with 213 Bi-DOTA-PESIN, which emits alpha particles that are effective at killing cancer cells. The other group was injected with beta-emitting 177 Lu-DOTA-PESIN, which are also effective in tumor cell-killing, but can also cause damage to nearby healthy cells. Alpha particles are able to kill cancer cells without damaging surrounding healthy tissue. A third group of mice received no treatment. However, at the maximum tolerated dose, the alpha-emitting 213 Bi-DOTA PESIN was significantly more effective, tripling the survival rate of the mice that received the therapy. The results indicate that the alpha-emitting radiopeptide could provide a new approach for treating prostate cancer and eventually other types of cancer. Society of Nuclear Medicine |
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| Related Prostate Cancer Current Events and Prostate Cancer News Articles Does prostate-specific antigen velocity help in early detection prostate cancer? The November issue of European Urology, the official journal of the European Association of Urology, features an article focussing on prostate specific antigen (PSA) velocity and early cancer detection. It has been suggested that changes in PSA over time aid prostate cancer detection. New Synthetic Molecules Trigger Immune Response to HIV and Prostate Cancer Researchers at Yale University have developed synthetic molecules capable of enhancing the body's immune response to HIV and HIV-infected cells, as well as to prostate cancer cells. Their findings, published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could lead to novel therapeutic approaches for these diseases. Chemo-radiation before prostate removal may prevent cancer recurrence Researchers in the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute and the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center have found a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy given before prostate removal is safe and may have the potential to reduce cancer recurrence and improve patient survival. Blood vessels might predict prostate cancer behavior A diagnosis of prostate cancer raises the question for patients and their physicians as to how the tumor will behave. Will it grow quickly and aggressively and require continuous treatment, or slowly, allowing therapy and its risks to be safely delayed? Short-term hormone therapy and intermediate dose radiation increases survivial for early stage prostate cancer Short-term hormone therapy given prior to and during intermediate dose radiation treatment for men with early stage prostate cancer increases their chance of living longer, compared to those who receive the same radiation alone. Task force develops new radiation guidelines for brachytherapy Radiation dose delivered to the prostate and nearby organs in every brachytherapy procedure should be carefully analyzed using post-implant CT or MRI and uniformly documented in every patient. 1 disease, not 1 demographic The Asian continent has nearly four billion people living in 47 different countries, and each of these groups has their own unique set of health issues. But when they come to the United States, they're often lumped into one large demographic: "Asian/Pacific Islander." Cancer survivors may not be getting the help they need to stop smoking More than a quarter of cancer survivors who still smoke have not been advised to quit smoking by their health care providers in the last year, according to a study published by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in the current issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Experts issue call to reconsider screening for breast cancer and prostate cancer Twenty years of screening for breast and prostate cancer - the most diagnosed cancer for women and men - have not brought the anticipated decline in deaths from these diseases, argue experts from the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in an opinion piece published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association." Detecting the undetectable in prostate cancer screening A team of Northwestern University researchers, using an extremely sensitive tool based on nanotechnology, has detected previously undetectable levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in patients who have undergone radical prostatectomy. More Prostate Cancer Current Events and Prostate Cancer News Articles |
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