- FDA issues complete response letter for King, Acura's pain drug candidate Acurox
- FDA approves Sanofi-Aventis' anti-arrhythmic Multaq
- Novartis receives complete response letter for Menveo vaccine; no new clinical trials required
- FDA approves Amag's intravenous Feraheme for iron deficiency anemia in patients with CKD
- FDA requires boxed warning describing risk of serious mental health events with use of smoking-cessation treatments Chantix, Zyban, generic versions
- Private FFS MA plans may be linked with higher costs for beneficiaries, GAO report shows
- Pediatric subspecialty telephone consultations may be cost-saving for Medicaid, research reveals
- Use of mental health services greater in health plans with parity in cost sharing, data find
- Public opinions appear split on health care affordability, satisfaction, survey finds
- In Brief: California Supreme Court
Adjuvant radiotherapy appears to reduce risk of progression in advanced prostate cancer
What's This?
In patients with pT3 prostate cancer, adjuvant radiotherapy following radical prostatectomy (RP) significantly reduces the risk of biochemical progression compared with RP alone, according to recently published study results. Although previous trials have demonstrated a benefit of adjuvant radiotherapy following RP, none of these trials was prospectively designed to show if patients with undetectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after RP would benefit from such therapy, the authors...
In patients with pT3 prostate cancer, adjuvant radiotherapy following radical prostatectomy (RP) significantly reduces the risk of biochemical progression compared with RP alone, according to recently published study results.
Although previous trials have demonstrated a benefit of adjuvant radiotherapy following RP, none of these trials was prospectively designed to show if patients with undetectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after RP would benefit from such therapy, the authors explained.
This prospective Phase III trial included 385 men with pT3 (extending beyond the capsule), node-negative tumors who underwent RP. Of these men, 307 had undetectable PSA following surgery and were randomized to receive immediate radiotherapy or to be managed with a "wait-and-see" approach. Biochemical progression-free survival was the primary endpoint (biochemical no evidence of disease [bNED]).
The addition of radiotherapy significantly increased biochemical progression-free survival after an overall median follow-up of 53.7 months, compared with a wait-and-see approach (72% vs 54%; hazard ratio, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.37-0.79; P=.0015).
Multivariate analysis identified several factors that were independent predictors of biochemical outcome, including a preoperative PSA level of more than 10 ng/mL, radiotherapy, and a tumor stage of pT3a/b versus a stage of pT3c.
"[O]ur study supports formerly reported results and gives evidence of an 18% benefit of bNED at 5 years after adjuvant radiotherapy for pT3 tumors with or without positive margins, even with an undetectable PSA after RP," the authors concluded. "Longer follow-up is needed to clarify the impact of adjuvant radiotherapy on metastases-free survival and overall survival." (Wiegel T, et al. J Clin Oncol 2009;27:2924-2930.)
Addition of radiotherapy to endocrine therapy has little negative long-term effect on QOL among men with prostate cancer, study shows 
What's This?
The substantial benefits of adding radiotherapy to endocrine treatment for locally advanced prostate cancer outweigh significant increases in some treatment-related symptoms, research indicates, particularly since the symptoms often associated with radiotherapy appear to have little additional effect on quality of life (QOL) after 4 years.Researchers analyzed self-reported patient data from a previous open-label Phase III trial of 872 men with locally advanced prostate cancer...
Ixabepilone, mitoxantrone potentially effective combination for docetaxel-refractory, castration-resistant prostate cancer, new data reveal
What's This?
Ixabepilone, mitoxantrone, and prednisone can be safely given in combination at doses that have demonstrated single-agent action in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), but these dose levels require pegfilgrastim to prevent prolonged neutropenia, according to recently published study results.Currently, there is no standard therapy for the treatment of patients with CRPC whose disease progressed following docetaxel therapy, the authors explained. Ixabepilone...
Women's odds of incident hypertension greater with high uric acid, insulin levels, study reveals
What's This?
Even small differences in uric acid and insulin levels independently predict clinically important, higher odds that incident hypertension will develop in young women, a new study shows.A research group wrote that several pathophysiologic process mechanisms may explain the etiology of hypertension. Biomarkers associated with these processes have already been linked with hypertension risk, but they may be interrelated. Thus, the investigators sought to determine if the...
No association found between dietary intake of fat, increased risk of renal cell carcinoma, study shows
What's This?
No association between intakes of fat and protein, including red meat, processed meat, poultry, and seafood, and the risk of renal cell cancer was evident in a recent analysis.The upward trend of kidney cancer incidence cannot be fully explained by improved detection techniques, but may, in part, be due to lifestyle changes, including increased obesity and hypertension, the authors explained. Studies done on the association of fat intake and the risk of kidney cancer have...
- Radiotherapy, chemotherapy increase risks of second malignancy, cardiovascular disease similar to smoking in patients with testicular cancer, researchers report
- Radiation therapy for prostate cancer raises bladder, rectal cancer risk, study indicates
- Alarm therapy plus desmopressin helps achieve dryness in children with enuresis, study finds
- Sunitinib appears to be cost-effective option for metastatic renal cell carcinoma, model shows
- Addition of radiotherapy to endocrine therapy has little negative long-term effect on QOL among men with prostate cancer, study shows
- Radiotherapy, chemotherapy increase risks of second malignancy, cardiovascular disease similar to smoking in patients with testicular cancer, researchers report
- Dietary intervention appears useful in men with prostate cancer
- Radiation therapy for prostate cancer raises bladder, rectal cancer risk, study indicates
- Prostatectomy provides greatest long-term survival in patients with localized prostate cancer, study data suggest
- Men with biopsy Gleason score 7, tertiary grade 5 disease face similar risk of PSA recurrence as men with higher Gleason score disease, study data suggest
