Several recent studies suggest pomegranate juice, especially its antioxidant ellagic acid content, has some anti-cancer properties. A study this month of men with rising PSAs after prostate cancer surgery or radiation confirms this. Drinking 8 oz of pomegranate juice a day slowed the rise in the men’s PSA.

The men’s health company GTx has announced two sets of of interim results in the past month from its pivotal Phase III clinical trial of Acapodene (toremifene citrate) for the treatment of side effects of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer.
(full story…)

News about Provenge vaccine … getting closer:

Provenge prostate cancer vaccine linked to longer survival for asymptomatic hormone refractory stage — UCSF study. June 28, 2006.

Dendreon Announces Publication of Pivotal Phase 3 Study Highlighting Survival Benefit and Safety Profile of PROVENGE in Men with Advanced Prostate Cancer June 29, 2006
Dendreon Announces FDA Grants Fast Track Status for Provenge

Rana P. Singh and team at U Colorado (Denver) have found that silibinin, the major active constituent of silymarin (Milk Thistle) , in mice inhibits lung tumor angiogenesis. They conclude that silibinin “merits investigation as a chemopreventive agent for suppressing lung cancer progression.”

Earlier work has shown that silibinin is helpful for liver toxicity, protects against kidney damage from chemotherapy, and inhibits prostate cancer growth in mice.

The effect of silibirin on prostate cancer cells is one of those stories where most of the research has been done over a number of years by one team, in this case led by Rana Singh at U Colorado. Would be nice to see confirmation from other labs. But silibinin is not going to be a money-tree. Milk Thistle is readily available in normal strengths.

Human trials of silibinin for the treatment of prostate cancer are underway at U. Colorado.
(full story…)

Suzanne Carver and Tricia of coastal Maine are going to walk 26.2 miles this September in The Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk to raise money for the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Suzanne writes:

I am doing this marathon in honor of my friend Bill Dyer who is a very special light in this world. His journey with cancer has been nine plus years and counting and he is the living meaning of love and goodness and simply being in his presence reminds me of all that is pure and divine about the human spirit. Please give in honor of Bill and countless others like him. Give as though your loved one’s life depended on it.

You give the money and we’ll pound the pavement!! If I can walk 26.2 miles, surely you can miss a coffee or two for a few weeks, right?

Please visit Suzanne Carver’s Personal Fundraising Page to donate!!

Bill’s wife, Wendy, says they will be posting Bill’s picture on the site. “They are also going to have T-shirts made for the walk with Bill’s picture on the front,” Wendy said.

If you have followed Bill and Wendy’s story from afar since Bill was diagnosed in 1996 or have received Wendy’s help, encouragement, inspiration and support via the many prostate cancer mailing groups in which she takes an active role, this is your chance to give in Bill’s honor while donating to improve cancer care for all.

Obese men with prostate cancer are at higher risk for treatment failure after primary radiation therapy, according to a new study from M. D. Anderson.

Full story

“Extracts from PYGEUM AFRICANUM, SERENOA REPENS and CUCURBITA PEPO are used in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa).

The activity of the androgen receptor (AR) is known to control growth of the prostate. Here, we examined extracts of these plants for their antiandrogenic activity using an AR responsive reporter gene assay for drug discovery.

A selective dichloromethane extract from the stem barks of PYGEUM AFRICANUM revealed the highest antiandrogenic effect.

Bioactivity-directed fractionation of this extract led to the isolation of N-butylbenzenesulfonamide (NBBS) indicating that extracts of the stem bark of P. AFRICANUM harbour androgen antagonistic activity. This compound may provide a novel approach for the prevention and treatment of BPH and human PCa. ”
Reference: Planta Med. 2006 Jun 19
Extracts from Pygeum africanum and Other Ethnobotanical Species with Antiandrogenic Activity.
Schleich S, Papaioannou M, Baniahmad A, Matusch R.
Institut fur Pharmazeutische Chemie, Philipps-Universitat Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
(full story…)

“Vietnam bestows honor on herbal medicine for prostate cancer”
A Vietnamese medical research organization received the country’s highest honor for producing an herbal drug treating prostate cancer.

The state-owned Research and Development Center also received the health ministry’s nod to use a catchy phrase on the drug bottles.

Crila, for which it received a gold medal Saturday, is the result of many years of research abroad by Dr Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tram, head of the center. The drug is made from the leaves of a kind of trumpet Lily (Crinum latifolium).

The center has been allowed to print the legend “a quality product for community health” on Crila bottles.

Reported by Vo Khoi – Translated by Hoang Bao
Vietnam Latest News Thanh Hien Daily
(full story…)

Dutasteride Induces Apoptosis In Androgen Sensitive Prostate Cancer Cell Lines
Main Category: Urology / Nephrology News
Article Date: 25 Jun 2006 - 0:00am (PDT)

UroToday.com - Dr. McCrohan and research colleagues from University College Dublin report that the dual 5 a-reductase inhibitor dutasteride induces apoptosis in androgen sensitive, but not androgen insensitive prostate cancer (CaP) cell lines and primary cultures. Their work appears in the epub version of Cancer.
News story from Medical News Today

Abstract:
Cancer. 2006 Jun 15
Effects of the dual 5 alpha-reductase inhibitor dutasteride on apoptosis in primary cultures of prostate cancer epithelial cells and cell lines.

Canadian firefighter and prostate cancer warrior John Wagontall has cycled a long way since he set out from Victoria, BC in May of 2006 heading for St. John’s, NL (see John Wagontall’s Cycle Across Canada Click the link then look downpage).

A few days ago, June 20, John reached Sudbury Ontario.

Lethbridge firefighter and prostate cancer warrior cyclist John Wagontall (center) had worked up an appetite before he dropped into Sudbury’s number one fire station for spaghetti June 20.

Averaging 150 kilometers a day, Wagontall is cycling across the country from firehouse to firehouse, in a personal tour de force, to raise awareness for prostate cancer.

The 47-year-old spent part of the day on the road, cycling 196 kilometers from Thunder Bay to the Big Nickel, and spent the rest of it talking with people about his personal struggle with prostate cancer.

Diagnosed in 2004, Wagontall’s story does not come with a happy ending.

“I’m dying of prostrate cancer and it’s a needless death,” Wagontall said frankly. “My doctor’s tell me I won’t live to see 55.”

“Prostate cancer has a 95 percent cure rate, yet only three percent of men are being cured. Men need to know they have to be tested in order to catch it early on so they can be treated. In my case, the cancer has already spread to my bladder and lymph system.”
(full story…)

COX-2 inhibitors are a class of drugs that have been shown to have some anti-tumor activity against human prostate cancer, both in the lab and in tests on humans. German researchers wanted to find out if combining COX-2 inhibitors with radiation therapy causes more severe side effects than radiation alone. They conducted a Phase I trial to test this.
(full story…)

Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the most common omega-3 fatty acid in the Western diet, has no impact on prostate cancer, according to a large dietary study slated to appear in the August issue of Cancer Causes Control.

This study evaluated total intake of ALA from animal, fish, and plant sources in 29,592 men age 55-74 years in the screening arm of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. The men were followed for an average of 5.1 years.

(full story…)

An Early Stretch to Focus on Cancer
By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI
Major League Baseball will announce today that in its effort to raise awareness of prostate cancer, all traditional seventh-inning activities scheduled for Father’s Day will instead be done during the sixth inning, symbolizing the fact that one in every six American men will ultimately develop prostate cancer. . . .
(full story…)

Zoologist Dr Lawrence Williams, a research consultant with the Scientific Research Council of Jamaica, says he and colleagues in Germany have been able to produce an anti-cancer compound, dibenzyl trisulphide (DTS), from guinea hen weed (petiveria alliacea), which grows wild across Jamaica.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Dr. Williams said he is ready to take his research to the next level - the use of the compound on mice induced with cancer and an investigation into the side effects, including DTS’s impact on the kidneys and the liver. The work is to cost an estimated US $150,000.
(full story…)

Identification of a novel retrovirus in prostate tumors of patients homozygous for the R462Q mutation in the HPC1 gene.
ASCO, 2006 Abstract No:304

E. Klein, A. Urisman, R. Molinaro, N. Fischer, S. Plummer, G. Casey, D. Ganem, J. DeRisi, R. Silverman

Introduction: Epidemiologic and genetic evidence suggest the possibility that prostate cancer may be an infectious disease.

HPC1 encodes for RNaseL, a unique antiviral protein activated by viral infection and interferon. Mutations and variants that impair function of RNase L, particularly the SNP R462Q, have been proposed as susceptibility factors for prostate cancer.

Given the role of this gene in viral defense, we explored the possibility that a viral infection might contribute to prostate cancer in men homozygous for R462Q.

Methods: We isolated total and polyA+ mRNA from peripheral zone tumors of 86 radical prostatectomy specimens. Corresponding randomly amplified cDNA was assayed for the presence of viral sequences by hybridization to a DNA microarray composed of oligonucleotides corresponding to more than 5,000 conserved sequences from all known viruses. Tissue localization studies were performed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Results: The presence of novel retroviral sequences was revealed in 9 of 20 (45%) men homozygous for R462Q, compared to only 1 (1.5%) of 66 wild type and heterozygous men. Full-length viral genomes were cloned and sequenced from the tumor of 2 R462Q homozygotes. The isolated virus, tentatively named XMRV, is closely related to xenotropic murine leukemia viruses but its sequence is distinct from all known members of this group.

Comparison of gag and pol sequences from different tumor isolates suggested infection with the same virus in all cases, yet sequence variation was consistent with the infections being independently acquired.

FISH and IHC localized the virus to stromal cells adjacent to tumor foci, and in vitro experiments demonstrated a related LnCAP-derived isolate to be replication competent.

Conclusions: These data provide the first demonstration that xenotropic MuLV-related viruses can produce an authentic human infection, and strongly implicate RNase L activity in the prevention or clearance of infection in vivo.

These findings also suggest the possible relationship between exogenous infection and development of prostate cancer in genetically susceptible individuals.

Researchers hope the phenomenon can lead to a new path in treating cancer in humans.
By Thomas H. Maugh II, L. A. Times Staff Writer
May 9, 2006
White blood cells from mice that are naturally immune to cancer cured tumors in other mice and provided them with lifelong immunity to the disease, researchers reported Monday.
(full story…)

Wary of Backlash, Cancer-Drug Makers Weigh Price Limits
Wall Street Journal
By JOHN CARREYROU and GEETA ANAND
May 10, 2006; Page B1
As high prices of cancer drugs spark the kind of patient outrage that high AIDS-drug prices unleashed more than a decade ago, a few pharmaceutical and biotech companies are weighing caps and other cost-containment measures, before the outcry turns into a public-relations crisis for the industry.

ImClone Systems Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., co-marketers of Erbitux, one of the most expensive cancer drugs on the market, are “well down the road” toward establishing an annual patient price cap for the drug if its market expands, says Ronald Martell, senior vice president of commercial operations at ImClone. Such a program would set an annual ceiling on individual patients’ drug-treatment costs, beyond which companies would provide the drug free of charge or at a steep discount. Genentech Corp., of South San Francisco, Calif., is considering cost-containing alternatives for Avastin, which is currently approved for treatment of early-stage colorectal cancer.
While the backlash against cancer-drug prices is nowhere near as big as the one against AIDS-drug prices, ImClone’s Mr. Martell says the industry should make changes in its policies now. “Otherwise, at some point there will be a confluence of events — social pressure, volume of dollars — and something will have to give,” he warns.

Erbitux, priced at $10,000 a month, is currently approved only for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have failed a certain kind of chemotherapy. Their average total cost of treatment is currently about $40,000: In most of these patients, the illness has advanced to the point where they are only a few months from death.

But later this year, ImClone and Bristol-Myers, both based in New York, hope to win Food and Drug Administration approval to market Erbitux for patients in earlier stages of colorectal cancer, who have longer life expectancies. Approval for these patients would result in a sharp rise in the average cost of treatment with Erbitux — and a sharp rise in profits.

In the case of Genentech’s Avastin, the current cost of treatment — $4,400 a month, or $52,000 a year — could rise sharply if the FDA approves the drug as a treatment — at double the dose — to treat lung cancer and breast cancer. Such approvals, expected over the next year, could result in thousands of new patients paying, at current prices, more than $100,000 a year to take Avastin.

The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which extended prescription-drug benefits to the elderly, has put financial pressure on elderly cancer patients, the age group with the highest rates of the disease. Under the old system, cancer patients receiving drugs intravenously at a hospital in practice often weren’t forced to make their 20% co-payment: The hospital would bill Medicare directly, and the Medicare reimbursement price — as much as 25% above the drugs’ market price — provided a sufficient profit cushion so that hospitals often didn’t collect co-payments.

But now, Medicare reimbursements are in line with drugs’ actual selling prices, and physicians and hospitals can no longer afford to forgive co-payments. As a result, many elderly cancer patients without supplemental prescription-drug insurance end up on the hook for thousands of dollars.

“There’s a groundswell of patients who are outraged,” says Jerry Flanagan, health-care policy director for the Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights, a Los Angeles watchdog group.

Full story at Wall Street Journal: Wary of Backlash, Cancer-Drug Makers Weigh Price Limits
By JOHN CARREYROU and GEETA ANAND
May 10, 2006; Page B1 May require subscription or initial ad view.

Men treated for prostate cancer or hoping to prevent the disease are increasingly made aware of the possible roles of certain dietary fats in fueling the disease. Now a scientist at New Jersey Medical School has suggested that prostate cancer cells’ use of fatty acids could be made the basis for new imaging methods and new ways to treat the disease.
(full story…)

Havana, May 5 (Prensa Latina) The Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) of Camaguey Province submitted a candidate vaccine to the National Medicine Control Center to begin clinical tests, part of its quest for a recombinant vaccine and therapy for prostate cancer.

Assistant Research Director Eulogio Pimentel said the CIGB is conducting research on several types of cancer, sometimes involving joint work with other institutions, such as the Molecular Immunology Center that has already developed similar projects for lung, breast, head, neck and prostate cancer.
(full story…)

Nicholas DeWolf, inventor, computer expert and philosopher, died Sunday April 12 in a hospital in Aspen, CO age 77 of complications from a stroke and prostate cancer.

Chad Abraham in the Aspen Times, April 17 called Nicholas DeWolf “an extraordinary and exuberant spirit of Aspen whose work in the semiconductor field paved the way for today’s computer industry.”

“He was an engineer, he emphasized in Greg Poschman’s induction video for the Aspen Hall of Fame,” Abraham goes on, “not a scientist.”

“But he was also a husband, father, actor, inventor, photographer and a sensualist; an animal lover who was loved by animals, a provocateur, skier, and an eccentric whose office suffered, or benefited from, legendary disorganization.”

“DeWolf, those close to him say, fought hard for Aspen’s preservation as the perfect world for providing absolute freedom of the discussion of ideas and the ability to mingle across classes, dishwashers to debutantes, Hollywood stars to ski bums.”

Nick DeWolf was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1996. On a website he created that year, PROSTATE CANCER meets PROTON BEAM ! A Patient’s Experiences, he wrote: “Hmm… Age 68, PSA=12, Gleason Score=7, Stage B1. Determined not to die of Prostate cancer, hoping to preserve sexuality. What to do, where to go?? ”

After researching all treatments available at the time, talking to doctors and to patients and considering effects of hormonal blockade on male sexuality, DeWolf opted for Proton beam radiation at Loma Linda.

Michael Bard, who told us about Nick’s death yesterday, wrote:

“I was deeply saddened to learn of Nick DeWolf’s passing on April 12th. Nick and I never met, but we chatted many times. When I was first diagnosed in 1999, I wrote to Nick and he immediately called me. We had several marathon conversations and he never was too busy to share his compassion and his knowledge.

His joie de vie was infectious. I remember his excitement over recording the Vietnamese hill tribes. Even when he had a recurrence, he continued to support Proton Beam and LLUMC. I put him in touch with men who were exploring salvage options and never dreamed his disease would progress so aggressively.

The Cap community is better for his presence. In the end, none of us can have a better tribute than that they helped their fellow man. I will miss him.”

Links
Nick DeWolf’s websites and photography — Images by Nick DeWolf
Press source including the photo
Computer pioneer dies at 77: Nick DeWolf’s genius illuminated, soaked Aspen. By Chad Abraham, Aspen Times, April 17, 2006