Advanced Prostate Cancer – Cancer In Plain English – Cancer Information

Degarelix for the treatment of Prostate Cancer

RemwesMedical — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:33:51 +0000

There is an exciting new medication which was just recently approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration of the USA) on December 24th, 2008 for the treatment of advanced Prostate Cancer. This new medicine is known as Degarelix and it is made by a company known as Ferring Pharmaceuticals.
Once prostate cancer has grown and has spread outside of the prostate gland, it is typically no longer able to be cured but is able to be controlled for years with what is known as hormonal therapy. The types of hormone therapies that have been available for us to use until now have been of two basic types.
One is the “LHRH agonists” of which Leupron or Zoladex are common examples and the other is the “Antiandrogens” of which Casodex or Eulexin are common examples.
Well, we now have a third type of hormone therapy that has been approved by the FDA and this one is called Degarelix. What Degarelix does is to actually BLOCK the GnRH RECEPTOR. GnRH stands for “Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone” and this is a hormone that originates in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus which stimulates the production of another hormone called LH (Leutenizing Lormone). This LH hormone, then, in turn causes the testicles to produce testosterone.
There are “receptors” in the brain that, when triggered, cause the brain (i.e. the hypothalamus part of the brain as we mentioned earlier) to produce GnRH which in turn, as we have seen, causes the production of LH which in turn stimulates the testicles to produce Testosterone. Thus, by blocking the RECEPTOR for GnRH in the brain, the brain is not stimulated to produce GnRH. Thus, since no GnRH is made, then no LH is made and thus finally, no testosterone is made thus by the testicles. Prostate cancer depends on the presence of testosterone in the body as its stimulus for growth and spread. Therefore, without testosterone, the cancer stops growing and shrinks – often for years.
The best part about this new medication known as Degarelix, is that it avoids what is known as the “flare” reaction that is sometimes a problem with the use of the more classic “LHRH agonists”. All of these concepts and many more are covered in very easy-to-understand language in the Prostate Cancer audio CD available on www.CancerInPlainEnglish.com.

Prostate Cancer Stage

RemwesMedical — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:17:22 +0000

One of the most important factors in the care and treatment of any form of cancer, is to know how much of the cancer is present at the time when the cancer is first discovered. The way that doctors are able to know and communicate with each other about much cancer is present at the time of the initial discovery is with something called a stage.
The stages of Prostate Cancer, simply put, are a measure of how much Prostate Cancer is present when we first find it.
Thankfully, with today’s measures, which include regular yearly check ups with a digital rectal exam (which is abbreviated as a DRE) and the measuring of a blood test known as a PSA level, MOST prostate cancers are now found in the early stages.
As with other cancers, we are used to hearing things such as “stage I” or “Stage II” etc when it comes to cancer. Indeed, Prostate Cancer is no different. It also has been classified into number stages with the lowest numbers indicating the least amount of cancer found at the time of the initial diagnosis and the highest numbers indicating the most amount of cancer found at the time of the initial diagnosis.
The difference with Prostate Cancer, however, is that the staging system can be a little complicated. It is not only divided into stages I, II, III and IV; it is further subdivided into T1a, T1b, T2b, etc. As such, the staging numbers and letters used for Prostate Cancer are not that intuitive and/or clear. They certainly are not easy to immediately memorize.
As such, for this Cancer In Plain English posting, we will simply state that early stage Prostate Cancer is Prostate Cancer that is in the stages more or less I and/or II and the cancer is primarily located in the Prostate at that time.
The more advanced stages of Prostate Cancer are stages III and IV and these are cancers that occur in men who have more or less not recognized the symptoms they were experiencing or ignored the symptoms. Typically Prostate Cancer does not have any symptoms when it is early along, except frequency with urination or getting up in the middle of the night to urinate; however, the most powerful and significant symptom in Prostate Cancer is back pain that will not go away. This symptom is so important because it indicates that the Prostate Cancer has grown in the prostate and has now spread to the lower back and is causing destruction and pain in the lower back.
When men go for regular check ups and measurements of PSA blood levels regularly, Prostate Cancer is found well before it has had a chance to grow, spread to the bones of the back and cause pain back there. If, on the other hand, men do not go for yearly check ups and do not have yearly measurement of blood PSA levels and, worse yet, ignore that bothersome back pain that seems to not go away, then they may be putting themselves at risk for finding Prostate Cancer only after it is much more advanced and, by that time, incurable.
All of these and many more concepts about Prostate Cancer can be found and are explained in very easy to understand language in the Prostate Cancer audio CD available on the web site known as the web site www.CancerInPlainEnglish.com

Abiraterone

RemwesMedical — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 11:36:49 +0000

There is new cancer drug known as Abiraterone which has so far produced very encouraging results in the treatment of advanced Prostate Cancer. Prostate cancer is a very frequent form of cancer in our society. Each year 680,000 men worldwide are diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and as many as 220,000 will die of this disease. Numerous studies have proven that the hormone Testosterone stimulates the growth of Prostate Cancer and that inhibition of this hormone leads to a decrease in the size and the growth of Prostate Cancer.
Abiraterone, is a new medication which has the promise of treating Prostate Cancer by blocking an enzyme known as the CYP17 enzyme which plays a role in the production of Testosterone in men with Prostate Cancer.
The results of the treatments provided for men with advanced Prostate Cancer with this new medication are as yet preliminary, but they are very encouraging. This medication is now currently undergoing clinical trials and if all goes well, it is expected to be on the market in the year 2011. These concepts and many others are available in the Prostate Cancer audio CD which is available on the web site www.CancerInPlainEnglish.com