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New non-aspirin pain drug proves effective against recurrent prostate cancer Publish Date : 6/10/2004 5:11:00 PM Source : Skincareindia.com Team
Currently, no effective treatment options exist for the estimated 50,000 men who annually develop the first signs of cancer recurrence - called biochemical relapse, a detectable and rising PSA level after surgery or radiation therapy for prostate cancer. For these otherwise healthy individuals, the first clinical signs of cancer relapse may be years ahead. "If the PSA test points to a recurrence, the good news is it gives us a lead time of up to seven years. The bad news is we don't have anything appropriate and effective to offer at this early stage of recurrence," said Dr. Raj S. Pruthi, the study's principal investigator. "The use of chemotherapy in prostate cancer has been typically disappointing in these patients when viewed in terms of efficacy and toxicity." Pruthi, assistant professor of surgery-urology at the School of Medicine, also co-directs the Multidisciplinary Program for Urologic Oncology at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. The findings were based on 24 prostate cancer patients in biochemical relapse who were treated with a Cox-2 inhibitor and followed for more than one year. After three months, 22 of 24 patients (92 percent) showed a significant inhibitory effect on their PSA levels, including 11 patients whose PSA either declined or stabilized. For the remaining 13 patients, 11 had a dramatic slowing of their PSA doubling time, or rate of PSA increase, and two patients showed no initial change. "Still, their rate of PSA increase slowed during their 12-month follow-up," Pruthi said. Halting the disease through hormonal therapy aimed at shutting down male sex hormones has not been shown to influence disease progression or survival in this group of patients, Pruthi said. Moreover, it may unnecessarily expose symptom-free patients to the therapy's side effects, he added. "The vast majority of patients are simply watched expectantly until they develop clinical symptoms of disease or metastatic disease (i.e. spread around the body), at which time we begin hormonal therapy," he said. "Therapeutic alternatives that are simple, non-toxic and efficacious clearly need to be identified." Cox-2 inhibitors may represent the needed alternative, Pruthi said, considering that the cellular enzyme cyclooxygenase (Cox-2) has been implicated in the development and growth of some cancers, including colon, breast, bladder and prostate malignancies. While the precise molecular mechanisms for Cox-2's effect on tumor growth remain unclear, increased gene expression of Cox-2 in tumor cells has been linked with decreased programmed cell death, increased tumor invasiveness, suppressed immune function and angiogenesis, or blood vessel growth. In the laboratory, Cox-2 inhibitors have been shown to have anti-tumor activities in human colon, breast, lung and prostate cancer tissues. "Recent evidence has shown that Cox-2 is over-expressed in human prostate cancer tissue and that Cox-2 inhibition has potent anti-tumor activity both in vitro and in vivo," Pruthi said. Late in the 1980s and 1990s, some evidence from epidemiologic studies had suggested that people who take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain relief have a reduced risk of colon cancer, and more recent studies have suggested that this reduced risk may be true for prostate cancer, as well. These drugs, which include aspirin, block Cox-2, which is produced in response to injury and enhances the inflammatory response, resulting in pain, inflammation and swelling. But NSAIDs also block expression of Cox-1, which is produced constantly and helps preserve the stomach's lining. Hence the increased risk of gastrointestinal side effects associated with taking NSAIDs. The advent in 1998 of celecoxib, first of the two cyclooxygenase-2 specific (Cox-2) inhibitor drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, provided the same effectiveness against pain and swelling of inflammation as the older NSAIDs but without the increased gastrointestinal risk, including stomach ulcers. These drugs are sold in the United States under the brand names Celebrex and Vioxx. In a clinical study, people at hereditarily high risk for developing pre-cancerous colon polyps were given celecoxib. They showed a decrease in the number of these polyps. Consequently, the FDA has approved the use of celecoxib for the prevention of pre-cancerous polyps in these patients. "We think Cox-2 inhibitors may help delay or prevent disease progression in men with recurrent prostate cancer after definitive radiation therapy or surgery and thereby help extend the time until hormonal therapy is needed," Pruthi said. "This clinical trial will better evaluate the clinical potential of Cox-2 as an anti-tumor medication in prostate cancer," he added. "We're interested in determining if this group of medications work for patients who otherwise are told 'Your cancer has come back but we have no appropriate treatment options for you at this stage.' " Up to 100 patients will be studied in this UNC investigation. Support for the research comes from the Lineberger Center. |
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Microsoft Says It Wooed SAP, and Oracle Trial Takes Note
Publish Date : 6/10/2004 7:52:00 PM In a trial that promises to shed light on the private dealings of the computer software industry, the first bombshell dropped yesterday even before the courtroom doors opened in San Francisco. Game Maker Misses Earnings Target and Cuts 2004 Forecast Publish Date : 6/10/2004 7:50:00 PM Financial disappointments continue to take a toll on Take-Two Interactive Software, the maker of the hit video game... Gemcitabine-paclitaxel approved as first-line metastatic breast cancer therapy USA Publish Date : 6/10/2004 5:45:00 PM The FDA has approved the combination of gemcitabine hydrochloride (Gemzar—Lilly) and paclitaxel (Taxol—Bristol-Myers Squibb and generics) as first-line treatment of women with metastatic... Gemcitabine-paclitaxel approved as first-line metastatic breast cancer therapy USA Publish Date : 6/10/2004 5:31:00 PM The FDA has approved the combination of gemcitabine hydrochloride (Gemzar—Lilly) and paclitaxel (Taxol—Bristol-Myers Squibb and generics) as first-line treatment of women with metastatic ... Nitric oxide deficiency raises cardiovascular disease risk in African Americans Publish Date : 6/10/2004 5:14:00 PM African Americans suffer from cardiovascular diseases at a rate about five times higher than the rest of the U.S. population. In a new study, scientists may have found a culprit: a serious deficiency of nitric... New non-aspirin pain drug proves effective against recurrent prostate cancer Publish Date : 6/10/2004 5:11:00 PM Early results from a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine study may determine if drugs called Cox-2 inhibitors, a newer type of non-aspirin pain medicine now widely prescribed for ... Human subjects play mind games Publish Date : 6/10/2004 5:08:00 PM For the first time in humans, a team headed by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis has placed an electronic grid atop patients'... National Network for Immunization Information statement on new thimerosal study Publish Date : 6/10/2004 5:07:00 PM The following statement can be attributed to Martin G. Myers, MD, executive director of the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii): Tongue studs cause more problems than chipped teeth, recessed gums and nerve damage Publish Date : 6/10/2004 5:05:00 PM Wearing a tongue stud puts people at risk for chipped teeth, recessed gums and nerve damage. However, most people don't realize that getting an oral piercing also places them at risk for developing... Renal Physicians and NIH Release Web Tool to Coordinate Care for Kidney Patients USA Publish Date : 6/10/2004 5:03:00 PM The Renal Physicians Association (RPA) and the National Kidney Disease Education Program (NKDEP) announced today the availability of a Nephrology Total Results : 2455 More News (Opens in New Window) : [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 Next Page |
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