A non-surgical solution for enlarged prostates, used in Europe, now FDA approved in USA
Physicians at UC San Diego Health are now offering prostate artery embolization (PAE) as a new treatment option for men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or an enlarged prostate. The minimally invasive procedure is an alternative to surgery, with no hospital stay, little operative pain and lower cost.
“PAE has been available in Europe as a treatment option for an enlarged prostate for several years,” said Andrew Picel, MD, interventional radiologist at UC San Diego Health. “With the recent FDA approval of this procedure, we are happy to offer this as an alternative to surgery for patients who are good candidates.” Continue reading “New Treatment Option Available for Men Suffering from Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia”
August 3, PSA Rising. African American men are more likely to develop prostate cancer than men of any other race and the disease is often more aggressive when diagnosed.
Now, African American touched by prostate cancer are being asked to join an ambitious study to find out why African-American men are at higher risk for developing more aggressive forms of prostate cancer and why they are more likely to die from it.
Facing prostate cancer together. African American prostate cancer patient-survivors invited to join nationwide RESPOND study. Photo source: newsroom: Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Palliative care is appropriate at any stage of a cancer diagnosis and can be provided along with curative treatment
August 1, 2018(Source, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey) When you or a loved one are diagnosed with cancer, it is normal to be overwhelmed by thoughts of prognosis, treatments, and potential complications. Patients wonder how their lives are going to change and whether their quality of life will ever return to normal. Pain and other symptoms, sometimes from the disease and sometimes from the treatments, can have a negative impact on one’s ability to maintain a satisfactory quality of life. Dealing with the diagnosis and learning how to live with cancer requires a team effort and support from a number of professionals.
Palliative care, sometimes referred to as supportive oncology services, is a specialized field of medicine focused on patients with serious illness. The goal is to help maximize quality of life through expert pain and symptom management, improved communication about goals of care and advance care planning, all while providing an extra layer of support while dealing with a serious illness. Ideally, the palliative care team works closely with the oncology team to help ensure that a patient’s quality of life is a focus as they and loved ones deal with all stages of cancer. Continue reading “Palliative Care: Another Level of Support in the Cancer Journey”
Researchers engineer a non-invasive model for monitoring tumor-bone dynamics and response to therapy
August 1, 2018 Scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have engineered a system allowing microscopic monitoring and imaging of cancer that has spread to the bone in mice so they can better understand and develop treatment for bone metastasis in humans.
Left to right: 1) Dietmar Hutmacher, Ph.D., Centre in Regenerative Medicine, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. 2) First observation of cancer-induced bone loss by intravital microscopy shows surrounding bone cells in cyan; bone remodeling in white; bone destroying osteoclasts in yellow; and red and green for prostate cancer cell cytoplasm and nucleus. 3) Monitoring a bone lesion caused by prostate cancer metastasis at 3, 6, and 9 days after treatment with zoledronic acid. Images were superimposed to generate a map of bone destruction (osteolysis). The left side of the lesion is stable, the right side shows bone destruction.
“Advanced prostate cancer and other cancers metastasize to the bones, causing resistance to therapy and pain for patients, but it’s not really clear what makes the bone so special to prostate cancer progression,” said Eleonora Dondossola, Ph.D., instructor in Genitourinary Medical Oncology and lead author of a paper in Science Translational Medicine.
Eleonora Dondossola, Ph.D., instructor in Genitourinary Medical Oncology and lead author of a paper in Science Translational Medicine.
“Bone probably provides cues and an attractive microenvironment for cancer cells to grow,” Dr. Dondossola notes, but noninvasive microscopy to study the process in detail is hindered by the thickness of the outer bone blocking the view of inner cavity and bone marrow.
Resistant Cancers Self-Destruct When Exposed to Experimental Drug
May 3, 2018. PSA Rising / UCSF / San Francisco researchers have discovered a promising new line of attack against lethal, treatment-resistant prostate cancer. Analysis of hundreds of human prostate tumors revealed that the most aggressive cancers depend on a built-in cellular stress response to put a brake on their own hot-wired physiology. Experiments in mice and with human cells showed that blocking this stress response with an experimental drug — previously shown to enhance cognition and restore memory after brain damage in rodents — causes treatment-resistant cancer cells to self-destruct while leaving normal cells unaffected.
Metastatic human prostate cancer cells transplanted into a mouse self-destruct (red) when treated with ISRIB, an experimental drug that exposes cancer cells to their full, unhealthy appetite for protein synthesis. Credit: Ruggero Lab / UCSF
Palliative care is appropriate at any stage of a cancer diagnosis and can be provided along with curative treatment
