In today’s New York Times Health Section, RONI RABIN includes prostate cancer in a list of men’s health conditions that get less than a fair share of attention and research dollars compared with women’s health conditions:

“Cancer also strikes men disproportionately: one in three women at some point in life; one in two men. In part, that is a result of the fact that more men than women smoke, and possibly of occupational exposures.

But experts and advocates say that when it comes to government financing for the most common sex-specific reproductive cancers, breast cancer financing exceeds prostate cancer financing by more than 40 percent, with prostate cancer research receiving $394 million in 2005, and breast cancer receiving $710 million. The figures, for financing by the National Cancer Institute and Defense Department, were provided by the not-for-profit Prostate Cancer Foundation.
(full story…)

Protoxin, also called PRX302, is a drug being tested on men with localized recurrent prostate cancer in Phase I clinical trials in Texas and Vermont.

Patients considering this trial must have experienced recurrence after completing a full course of definitive external beam radiation or definitive brachytherapy (but not both) as primary therapy for diagnosed prostate cancer at least one year prior to enrollment

Our main news about Protoxin is here:
PSA-activated protoxin that kills prostate cancer: phase I clinical trial is underway
http://www.psa-rising.com/prostatecancer/protoxin1106.htm

A reader asked for a simpler, clearer explanation of what’s going on with this drug. Here’s what we know at the moment:

In Texas, one trial enrolled the first patients in May this year and is hoping to recruit 36 men with localized recurrent prostate cancer. Patients must have recurred after EBR or brachytherapy, have PSA level less than 20 ng/mL and PSA doubling time longer than 3 months. They must NOT be taking hormone drugs. Also, they must NOT have signs of metastatic disease including no bone metastases on bone scan, or any lymph node, lung, liver or soft tissue.
(full story…)

Life & Times Blog, launched by Los Angeles area PBS station KCET, has a story on the topic Prostate Cancer: Watchful Waiting Vs. Treatment.

The page includes a video interview with Eric Kaldor, who “didn’t want the side effects of impotence and incontinence. So Eric Kaldor opted for ‘watchful waiting.”‘ Check it out!

Also compare: “Treating elderly men right after diagnosis is better than the current ‘watchful waiting’,” February 2006.

Phenoxodiol’s fast track status at FDA generates a lot on interest among men with advanced prostate cancer. But despite evidence that Phenoxodiol delays progression in hormone refractory prostate cancer, is the fast track to FDA approval petering out?
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Reuters reports that Panama on Friday”withdrew stocks of a medicine used by thousands to treat high blood pressure after investigations linked it to a mystery illness that has killed 19 people.”

Lisinopril is a drug made by several companies that is used to treat hypertension and heart failure.

“The death toll from the mystery illness — which starts with nausea, fever, diarrhea and weakness, and soon progresses to acute kidney failure, partial paralysis and death — rose by one to 19 on Friday. Another 11 people are sick.

First reported a month ago, the illness has struck mainly elderly men being treated for high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney disorders. Most were taking multiple treatments.”
Full story at Reuters.

Starting Monday, U.S. Customs agents no longer will seize Canadian prescription drugs mailed to Americans, federal officials announced. The drug imports are still illegal but customs will let them through.

According to the Mineapolis Star Tribune, “The Department of Homeland Security, which operates Customs, told members of Congress in e-mails Monday that it will stop seizing Canadian drugs and instead will conduct random sampling to identify those that are counterfeit or unsafe.”
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Dutch medical researchers say that long-term quality of life among prostate cancer survivors in their country varies by treatment and in one respect, mental health, is better than for men in the same age bracket who have never been treated for prostate cancer.

Long-term prostate cancer survivors 5 to 10 years after diagnosis reported comparable overall health related quality of life but showed worse general health perceptions yet better mental health scores than age-matched men in the general population.
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An Australian man has died after swallowing 10,000 times the daily dose of selenium, reports The Age online newspaper. The 75-year-old mistakenly “purchased sodium selenite powder used primarily as a supplement for livestock, swallowing 10 grams.”

The man’s case is reported was reported October 2 in the Medical Journal of Australia (”Accidental death from acute selenium poisoning“).

According to The Age, Australian doctors who treated the 75-year-old “have used his death to highlight the dangers of promoting complementary medicines without adequate instructions.” The doctors blame the internet.

Selenium for human consumption, as sold in pharmacies, health stores and supermarkets , typically comes in 200 microgram (µg) pills or capsules, which may be printed “200 mcg.”
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FDA has approved a new colon and rectal cancer drug, Vectibix, and the manufacturer, Amgen has promised to cap the cost for patients who need the drug but cannot afford it.
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Men who eat more fruits and vegetables are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. This finding from a large Los Angeles study to be published next month in the journal Cancer Causes Control suggests that well-nourished, health-conscious men are more likely to take PSA tests for early detection of this cancer. At the same time, diet did not protect them from developing this cancer nor did it affect the cancer grade.
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Women who eat fatty fish, but not other fish, may cut their risk of kidney cancer by about half according to a Swedish study.

The same Swedish hospital studied men for a period of 30 years and found eating fatty fish could reduce prostate cancer risk by one third.
(full story…)

“Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said today it will begin selling nearly 300 generic prescription drugs for just $4 for up to a 30-day supply, for both the insured and uninsured.

The test program will begin Friday in Tampa and expand by January to the rest of the Florida, which includes a growing market of Baby Boomers and retirees who benefit from the new Medicare drug benefit for the elderly and disabled. The company will then aim to take the program nationally, serving customers, employees and the nation’s burgeoning population of uninsured Americans.

The company said it plans to take the program to as many states as possible next year in what will reduce drug costs for people with health insurance to $4 from between $10 and $30 for a 30-day prescription.

While the move is considered good for consumers, it was also believed to be an effort by Wal-Mart to improve its public image as a company. It has been criticized for the level of benefits, particularly health insurance, it provides to workers.”
Full story ChicagoTribune, By Bruce Japsen, September 21, 2006, 11:17 AM CDT

See also Wal-Mart cuts generic drug prices in Florida, Reuters Sept 21, 2006.

Wal-Mart to Offer $4 Generic Prescriptions, New York Times (registration necessary, free)
Wal-Mart Tests Lower Drug Prices, Houston Chronicle, Sept. 21, 2006, By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Business Writer

So far 146 people in 23 states are reported ill from the E. Coli outbreak. One person has died.

Natural Selection Foods has recalled all packages of its fresh spinach and any salad with spinach in a blend because they are possibly contaminated with E. coli. The affected packages have “Best if Used by Dates” of August 17 through October 1. Consumers with questions can contact the company at 800-690-3200.

The recalled brands are:

• Bellissima
• Cheney Brothers
• Coastline
• Compliments
• Cross Valley
• D’Arrigo Brothers
• Dole
• Earthbound Farm
• Emeril
• Farmers Market
• Fresh and Easy
• Fresh Point
• Green Harvest
• Hy Vee
• Jansal Valley
• Mann
• Mills Family Farm
• Natural Selection Foods
• Nature’s Basket
• O Organic
• Premium Fresh
• President’s Choice
• Pride of San Juan
• Pro-Mark
• Rave Spinach
• Ready Pac
• River Ranch
• Riverside Farms
• Snoboy
• Superior
• Sysco
• Tanimura & Antle
• The Farmer’s Market
• Trader Joe’s
Source: Natural Selection Foods LLC

“Two battling cancer sufferers have left their sick beds to join forces in a demand for better treatment for cancer patients in Wales.

Grandfather Dave Powell and mother-of-two Jayne Sullivan, who are still receiving treatment for their cancers, are taking their protest to the National Assembly with a claim that Welsh patients are being victimised.

Both are urging that cancer treatments and the drugs involved should be available to all patients who need them.

Earlier this year, breast cancer victim Mrs Sullivan, 45, highlighted the NHS restrictions on the use of the breast cancer drug herceptin by staging a seven-day sit-in protest at the assembly.

Grandfather Mr Powell, 54, of Barry, had been fighting since March for treatment for his prostate cancer and finally received help from a hospital in England last month.

But the couple say other prostate cancer sufferers who have been recommended for similar therapy, which is not available in Wales, have been told they will only receive in exceptional circumstances. This has been confirmed in a letter to doctors

Mr Powell said: ‘I eventually received treatment but only after a five-month battle with NHS officials in the National Assembly.

‘This form of treatment - brachytherapy - is a low-dose form of radiotherapy and has been available for years in the UK but not in Wales. They are now telling other Welsh men in my situation they will not pay for prostate cancer patients to receive help in England - that’s a disgrace.’

by Greg Tindle, South Wales Echo, Sept 19 2006
icwales.co.uk

On September 19-20, 2006, nearly 4,000 American Cancer Society “Celebration Ambassadors” will gather in Washington, DC for Celebration on the Hill 2006—a unique event that will show our country’s lawmakers how the American Cancer Society is waging the fight against cancer in communities nationwide.

Welcome to Celebration on the Hill 2006!

Cancer survivors attend Celebration on the Hill
By Robyn Jackson

Cancer survivors from South Mississippi are in Washington, D.C., today and Wednesday for Celebration on the Hill, an event organized by the American Cancer Society to encourage Congress to make cancer funding a priority. Hattiesburg American.

Celebration on the Hill Forums (ACS) by topic and regional division

Preparations Made for Celebration on the Hill (Yahoo, Sept 14)

Don’t eat your packaged spinach! Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises consumers not to eat bagged fresh spinach in view of a serious E. coli outbreak reported since Aug. 23 in more than twenty states starting with Connecticut, Idaho, Utah, Indiana, New Mexico, Michigan, Oregon, and Wisconsin, which reported the most cases and the one death. Reports of confirmed cases have spread rapidly.
(full story…)

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…)