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Report to the Nation
Prostate Cancer Has Become Most Common Non-Skin
Cancer in the United States
Arnold Palmer to Back Multidisciplinary Treatment
Approach to Optimize Care and Improved Outcomes
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Did you know?
A man is 33% more likely to get prostate cancer than a woman is
to get breast cancer. |
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Sept. 22, 2004 - The
Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) today issued a Report to the Nation on
Prostate Cancer that addresses the urgent need to improve the management
of prostate cancer and accelerate the development of better treatments
and a cure. They also announced it has partnered with golf legend and
prostate cancer survivor Arnold Palmer to launch a national education
campaign urging men with prostate cancer to seek a multidisciplinary, or
team, approach to manage their disease.
This year, 230,000
men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in the United States, and
30,000 are expected to die from the disease. Today, about two million
men are battling prostate cancer, and over the next decade, about three
million more will be compelled to join the war.
The Report To The
Nation on Prostate Cancer and the "It's a TEAM Approach: Prostate Cancer
Treatment, Education, and Awareness and Management" were unveiled today
at the New York Academy of Sciences.
Report Executive
Editor, Peter Carroll, M.D., Chair of the Department of Urology at the
University of California, San Francisco, commented, "It is imperative
that continued advances be made in the scientific understanding and
optimal treatment of prostate cancer. Despite the high profile and high
prevalence of the disease, there remains considerable controversy
surrounding the benefits and risks of early detection and there
continues to be a lack of consensus for the management of many stages of
the disease. The Report to the Nation on Prostate Cancer identifies the
areas of consensus and frames the debates regarding the treatment of
prostate cancer. Most importantly, it helps to establish an agenda for
research that must be undertaken to advance the field."
The PCF's Report to
the Nation on Prostate Cancer, authored by 24 leading prostate cancer
physician-scientists, offers a comprehensive review of the state of the
art in prostate cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and research.
One key aim of this Report is to present and summarize current and
emerging information on treatment strategies for every stage of the
disease -- establishing a common framework for a dialogue among the
various specialists treating patients with prostate cancer. An
underlying theme of the Report is the need for multidisciplinary
collaboration among urologists, radiation oncologists and medical
oncologists at all stages of the disease to optimize therapy and to
expedite the development of new therapies.
Calls to Action
The Report to the
Nation on Prostate Cancer was unveiled today at a panel presentation at
the New York Academy of Sciences. A webcast of the event will be
available on PCF's website at
http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org or at
http://www.vcall.com/CEPage.asp?ID=89249. The Report's most urgent
calls to action included:
* The coordination of care among urologists,
radiation oncologists and
medical oncologists is crucial to the well-being
of patients and to the
proper management of prostate cancer, but many
patients are not made
aware of a multidisciplinary team approach until
their cancer has
progressed to a late stage. The Report supports
the multidisciplinary
model of treatment widely employed in the
treatment of other cancers
but still generally lacking in the treatment of
prostate cancer
patients.
* As the debate about the use of prostate specific
antigen (PSA) testing
and the optimal PSA-level threshold for biopsy
continues, new and
better diagnostic methods must be developed
rapidly to maximize the
early detection of prostate cancer. Physicians
continue to be
concerned about diagnosing prostate cancer at the
earliest stage when
it is most treatable, while at the same time
avoiding unneeded biopsies
and treatment of prostate cancers that might not
become clinically
meaningful.
* Because of the very large number of men entering
the target zone for
prostate cancer, beginning at age 50, it is
imperative to find better
ways to distinguish between aggressive,
fast-growing prostate cancers
that require assertive treatment versus
less-aggressive, slow-growing
prostate cancers that may not become clinically
meaningful during the
life of the patient. Recent data show that PSA
doubling time can be
predictive of patient outcomes. This must be
validated for its
utility as a surrogate for survival benefit in
clinical trials.
Currently, nomograms and artificial neural
networks can help in
evaluating multiple factors in predicting patient
outcomes, but better
tests are needed.
* A top priority must be to provide the 230,000 men
who are diagnosed
with prostate cancer each year better data for
deciding how they
should be treated. While significant progress is
being made to
improve surgery and radiation therapy, we still
are not able to
provide patients meaningful data on relative
survival rates and the
relative frequency of major side effects,
including incontinence,
impotence, and bowel disorders. Another pressing
research priority is
to determine the potential benefits of
androgen-deprivation therapy
prior to surgery, as clinical trials to date have
yielded equivocal
results.
* To help identify and treat signs of prostate
cancer at its earliest
stages, developing treatments for high-grade
prostatic intraepithelial
neoplasia (PIN), a premalignant precursor for
prostate cancer, may be
a viable approach for preventing or delaying
prostate cancer and
should receive appropriate attention from the
research community.
* Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) is well
accepted for the treatment
of advanced prostate cancer. Yet, key questions
about its use -
optimal time to initiate therapy and whether to
treat continuously or
intermittently - are not resolved and need to be
subjected to rigorous
clinical studies. New clinical trials must also
be designed to test
ADT in conjunction with other therapies, including
docetaxel or
targeted agents.
* In patients with bone metastases, the
bisphosphonate zoledronic acid
has been shown to reduce skeletal complications.
New practice
guidelines must be developed for the use of
bisphosphonates in
preventing destruction of bone and delaying spread
of bone metastases.
* With one recently approved agent, docetaxel,
showing survival benefit
in advanced prostate cancer, more work needs to be
done to determine
its optimal use and to bring additional therapies
to the market.
Tyrosine kinase inhibitors, angiogenesis
inhibitors, inhibition of
endothelin-1, therapeutic vaccines and monoclonal
antibodies have all
shown promise in clinical studies. A major
initiative to accelerate
the testing of these promising new drugs must be
launched, including
the development of better clinical trial designs,
the identification
of better surrogate markers or intermediate end
points, and an
increase in patient enrollment in clinical trials.
* A key call to action is to determine the optimal
timing of chemotherapy
in androgen-independent prostate cancer.
Additionally, determining
the role of chemotherapy earlier in the disease,
such as prior to or
immediately following localized treatment in
high-risk patients, must
be evaluated in clinical trials. Similar uses of
chemotherapy have
been validated in high-risk breast cancer
patients, in whom surgery,
radiation and chemotherapy are used early in the
disease to minimize
the risk of relapse.
"The need for
innovation is more urgent than ever, as the baby boomer men reach the
target age for prostate cancer, beginning at age 50," says Leslie
Michelson, PCF Vice-Chairman and CEO. "Prostate cancer is already the
most common non-skin cancer in the U.S. and will have the greatest
increase in incidence over the next decade. The number of new prostate
cancer cases in the U.S. is anticipated to increase by 50 percent to
more than 300,000 new cases per year by 2012."
Mr. Michelson
continued, "The PCF's goal is to change the approach to the management
and treatment of prostate cancer and bring together all specialties to
benefit patients. We must also greatly accelerate new drugs through
clinical testing in our search for better treatments and a cure. Since
1993, the Prostate Cancer Foundation has played a pivotal role in
supporting and funding R&D breakthroughs to defeat this disease, and we
are proud of our continuing contributions to this field."
To download a copy
of the PCF's Report to the Nation on Prostate Cancer, please visit the
Prostate Cancer Foundation's Web site at
http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org.
The TEAM Approach: Prostate Cancer Management
This initiative,
supported by Arnold Palmer, is designed to raise awareness among the
nearly two million men battling the disease that an integrated team of
health care professionals -- a urologist, radiation oncologist, and
medical oncologist -- should be involved, especially in the treatment of
advanced prostate cancer to optimize patient outcomes and maximize
survival.
This educational
campaign is called "It's a TEAM Approach: Prostate Cancer Treatment,
Education, Awareness and Management." Specifically, it urges men to
speak with their physician about including a medical oncologist if they
are undergoing hormone therapy to treat their prostate cancer and their
prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels are rising.
"When I was
diagnosed with prostate cancer, I did everything I could to fight the
disease. With the advice of my medical team, I chose the most aggressive
form of treatment recommended for my type of cancer," Palmer said. "I
want men whose lives have been impacted by prostate cancer to know that
they should seek a team of specialist who can help them manage their
disease, and if their current treatment is not working, to ask their
doctor about adding a medical oncologist to their team."
Diagnosed during the
height of his career, Palmer worked with his medical team to ensure he
received the treatment that was right for him. Now he is urging other
men to do the same. During Prostate Cancer Awareness Month and beyond,
Palmer will reach men with the disease through public service
announcements airing on television stations nationwide.
"Prostate cancer
treatment has lagged behind other cancers, such as breast, colon, and
brain cancer, where multidisciplinary teams of physicians collectively
guide treatment," says Leslie Michelson, PCF Vice Chairman and CEO.
"Unlike with other cancers, men with prostate cancer often do not know
to seek the advice of a medical oncologist until their cancer has
progressed to a late stage of the disease. We need to change our
approach to the management and treatment of prostate cancer and bring
together all specialties to benefit patients."
Nearly 30,000 men
are expected to die from the disease this year. While there is no "one
size fits all" treatment for prostate cancer, most men with advanced
disease or disease that has recurred after localized therapy, such as
surgery or radiation, typically receive hormonal therapy to delay
disease progression. However, hormonal therapy typically stops working
after 18-24 months in most men and their PSA levels begin to rise again
-- likely indicating that the prostate cancer is spreading. At that
point, it is particularly important for patients to seek the advice of a
medical oncologist who can work with the rest of the patient's
healthcare team to determine the best treatment plan.
"The integration of
care among urologists, radiation oncologists and medical oncologists is
crucial to the well-being of patients and to the proper management of
prostate cancer, but many patients are not aware of the treatment
specialties until their cancer has progressed to a late stage in the
disease," said Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine
at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, Director of the
Genitourinary Oncology Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. "The
team of experts works very well with various other cancers, and now we
need to bring these benefits to men suffering with prostate cancer."
For more
information, viewers are directed to visit the Prostate Cancer
Foundation's Web site at
http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org or call 1-800-757-CURE. In
addition to offering visitors a downloadable version of the public
service announcement, the PCF has developed a list of questions for men
to ask their doctor to determine if it's time to seek the advice of a
medical oncologist. Support for the "It's a TEAM Approach: Prostate
Cancer Treatment, Education, Awareness and Management" educational
program has been provided by Aventis Pharmaceuticals.
About Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is
the most commonly diagnosed non-skin cancer in the United States. One in
six American men will develop prostate cancer in the course of his
lifetime. A little-known fact is that a man is 33% more likely to
develop prostate cancer than an American woman is to get breast cancer.
This year, it is estimated that over 230,000 new prostate cancer cases
will be diagnosed in the United States. Over the next decade as baby
boomer men reach the target age for the diagnosis of prostate cancer, it
is anticipated that new prostate cancer cases will increase to 300,000
per year.
About the Prostate Cancer Foundation
The Prostate Cancer
Foundation is dedicated to finding better treatments and a cure for
recurrent prostate cancer. Since inception in 1993, the Prostate Cancer
Foundation (PCF) has become the world's largest philanthropic source of
support for prostate cancer research. The PCF has raised approximately
$220 million and funded more than 1,100 critical research projects in
100 research centers around the world.
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
