SPSA News
Email News UpdatesProstate Cancer News: Below you will find news articles in chronological order (latest at the top). You will find interesting news, events, stories, latest testing and research, activities and much more.
Subject: Prostate tumour treatment acts like a guided missile
Category: Prostate Cancer NewsA "search and destroy" prostate cancer drug that seeks out tun ours and deli ers a precisely targeted dose of radio son can keep men with advanced disease alive for longer, a study has shown.
The treatment looks for a specific protein found in high numbers on the surface of some prostate tumour cells. Once found, it binds to the cells and kills them with radiation. The study, led by a team at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), found that adding 177Lu-PSMA-617 to standard care extended patients' lives by an average of four months.
On average, patients who received the new treatment lived for 15.3 months, compared with 11.3 months for those given standard care alone. They also had longer without their cancer getting worse, at 8.7 months compared with 3.4 months. After two years, men who received the new treatment were 38 per cent less likely to die.
Professor Johann de Bono, of the ICR and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, the study's co-author, said: "Thls new treatment acts like a guided missile - seeking out cancer cells with high levels of the PSMA [prostatespecific membrane antigen] molecule on their surfaces". It combines a potent radioactive medicine with a 'homing signal' that searches for tumour cells and binds them, delivering radiation precisely to destroy the cancer cells.
"Our findings show that patients whose tun ours have high levels of PSMA can benefit from this highly innovative 'search and destroy' treatment, and I believe that these results can change the standard of care for some men with advanced prostate cancer."
The study involved 831 men with advanced prostate cancer and whose tumour PSMA levels and given at least one targeted hormone treatment and chemotherapy. Up to half of the 10,000 men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer each year, are believed to have tumours with high levels of protein.
The study is being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's virtual annual meeting.
Dr Jonathan Simons, chief executive of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, said that the trial "demonstrates what's possible with precision medicine: we can send a radioactive isotope directly at prostate cancer cells to eradicate them wherever they are if the body'.
Source: Kat Lay Times Health Editor
Subject: National Research on PSA Test Results
Category: Prostate Cancer NewsUnlike other primary cancers, there is no National Screening Programme for Prostate Cancer. In recent years, the Somerset Cancer Support Association (SPSA) has funded several free PSA testing sessions throughout the county. This work has been coordinated with other support groups countrywide by the Graham Fulford Charitable Trust (GFCT).
Data collected by GFCT now covers more than 154,033 results from over 103,000, men in more than 77,000 different postcodes in the UK.
To support the case for a National Screening Programme data is being collected for analysis by researchers at Manchester University. This two-year project will produce a peer-reviewed paper for publication in leading medical journals.
In Somerset, the SPSA is appealing to all men that have taken the PSA test and received an "abnormal" letter (Red / Amber or top quartile Green) between 2010 and 2020, to take part in a simple online survey. https://mypsatests.org.uk/Research/
Contributions throughout the UK will help form a national picture. The evidence acquired by this research will help persuade the National Screening Council of the need for a PSA screening program for all men in the UK.
Source: SPSA
Subject: NICE questionnaire on radiotherapy spacer
Category: New TreatmentsIf you have had a spacer used to protect your rectum during radiotherapy, your experiences could help NICE decide if the procedure should be used more widely in the NHS.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is carrying out a project on the procedure ‘Biodegradable spacer insertion to protect the rectum during radiotherapy for prostate cancer.’ They are looking at how well the procedure is working and if it is safe enough to be used more widely in the NHS in the future.
Radiotherapy to treat prostate cancer can damage the rectum (the end part of the bowel) causing bleeding and leakage of faeces (poo). The aim of this procedure is to reduce the amount of radiation reaching the rectum during radiotherapy, which may reduce the damage. It is usually done using general anaesthetic about 1 week before radiotherapy starts. The rectum is pushed slightly away from the prostate by inserting gel or a balloon (spacer) between them. This remains in place during radiotherapy. It is biodegradable, which means it breaks down and is absorbed by the body after about 6 months.
If this is a procedure that you have had, NICE would like to invite you to provide feedback on your experience of it by completing a survey, which should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. If this is a procedure that you have not had, please do not complete this survey.
If you would like to find out more about NICE or the programme please visit their website.
https://nice.researchfeedback.net/s/IP1316_2
Source: NICE / Prostate Cancer Research