Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Clin Oncol 2021 May 14:JCO2100286. Epub 2021 May 14.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.

Purpose: The combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) is a standard therapy for metastatic urothelial carcinoma. Based on data that angiogenesis plays a role in urothelial carcinoma growth and progression, a randomized placebo-controlled trial was performed with the primary objective of testing whether patients treated with GC and bevacizumab (GCB) have superior overall survival (OS) than patients treated with GC and placebo (GCP).

Patients And Methods: Between July 2009 and December 2014, 506 patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma without prior chemotherapy for metastatic disease and no neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy within 12 months were randomly assigned to receive either GCB or GCP. Read More

Front Oncol 2021 26;11:659442. Epub 2021 Apr 26.

Department of Urology, Kidney and Urology Center, Pelvic Floor Disorders Center, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, China.

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cancer among males in the world and the majority of patients will eventually progress to the metastatic phase. How to choose an effective way for the treatment of metastatic PCa, especially in the later stage of the disease is still confusing. Herein we reported the case of a patient diagnosed with metastatic PCa and conducted a literature review on this issue. Read More

Radiat Oncol 2021 May 12;16(1):88. Epub 2021 May 12.

Department of Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Center Sestre Milosrdnice, Vinogradska 29, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.

Background: Hypofractionated post-prostatectomy radiotherapy is emerging practice, however with no randomized evidence so far to support it's use. Additionally, patients with persistent PSA after prostatectomy may have aggressive disease and respond less well on standard salvage treatment. Herein we report outcomes for conventionally fractionated (CFR) and hypofractionated radiotherapy (HFR) in patients with persistent postprostatectomy PSA who received salvage radiotherapy to prostate bed. Read More

Am Soc Clin Oncol Educ Book 2021 Mar;41:1-12

Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA.

Despite notable screening, diagnostic, and therapeutic advances, disparities in prostate cancer incidence and outcomes remain prevalent. Although commonly discussed in the context of men of African descent, disparities also exist based on socioeconomic level, education level, and geographic location. The factors in these disparities span systemic access issues affecting availability of care, provider awareness, and personal patient views and mistrust. Read More

Cancer Treat Rev 2021 Apr 20;98:102206. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Radiation Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.

Background And Purpose: Between 30% and 47% of patients treated with definitive radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer are at risk of intraprostatic recurrence during follow-up. Re-irradiation with stereotactic body RT (SBRT) is emerging as a feasible and safe therapeutic option. However, no consensus or guidelines exist on this topic. Read More

Clin Genitourin Cancer 2021 Apr 3. Epub 2021 Apr 3.

Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, University Federico II of Naples, Naples, Italy; Regional Reference Center for Rare Tumors, Department of Oncology and Hematology, AOU Federico II of Naples, Naples, Italy. Electronic address:

Introduction: Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is a deadly disease. Enzalutamide is an oral second-generation anti-androgen that is active in mCRPC. Circulating tumor cells (CTC) count correlates with overall survival (OS) in mCRPC, whereas detection of the androgen-receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) in CTC predicts poor response to oral second-generation anti-androgens. Read More

Pathologica 2021 Mar 18. Epub 2021 Mar 18.

Department of Cellular, Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento, Italy.

Objective: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common malignancy in men. Radiotherapy and surgery successfully control organ-confined tumors, although, locally advanced/high-risk PCa frequently progress to the metastatic stage of the disease, which is uncurable. Identification of novel strategies to improve the efficacy of standard clinical protocols is a primary need. Read More

Diagn Interv Imaging 2021 Apr 26. Epub 2021 Apr 26.

Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy.

The standard treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) consists of surgery followed by iodine-131 (I) administration. Although the majority of DTC has a very good prognosis, more aggressive histologic subtypes convey a worse prognosis. Follow-up consists of periodically measurements of serum thyroglobulin, thyroglobulin antibodies and neck ultrasound and I/I whole-body scan. Read More

J Pers Med 2021 Apr 13;11(4). Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Unit of Radiation Medicine, Department of Radiobiology and Radiohygiene, National Public Health Centre, 1221 Budapest, Hungary.

Prostate cancer is among the most frequent cancers in men worldwide. Despite the fact that multiple therapeutic alternatives are available for its treatment, it is often discovered in an advanced stage as a metastatic disease. Prostate cancer screening is based on physical examination of prostate size and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level in the blood as well as biopsy in suspect cases. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2021 Apr 15;22(8). Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Pretoria & Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.

Emerging research demonstrates that co-inhibitory immune checkpoints (ICs) remain the most promising immunotherapy targets in various malignancies. Nonetheless, ICIs have offered insignificant clinical benefits in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer (PCa) especially when they are used as monotherapies. Current existing PCa treatment initially offers an improved clinical outcome and overall survival (OS), however, after a while the treatment becomes resistant leading to aggressive and uncontrolled disease associated with increased mortality and morbidity. Read More

Cancers (Basel) 2021 Apr 1;13(7). Epub 2021 Apr 1.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.

Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is a highly aggressive disease with few therapeutic options. Hyperactive androgen receptor (AR) signaling plays a key role in CRPC progression. Previously, we identified RAR-related orphan receptor gamma (RORγ) as a novel key driver of AR gene overexpression and increased AR signaling. Read More

Prostate Int 2021 Mar 13;9(1):54-59. Epub 2020 Aug 13.

Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group (LACOG), Genito-Urinary Section, Brazil.

Background: According to pathologico-clinical features, patients diagnosed with localized prostate cancer (PCa) are stratified into distinct risk groups (low-risk, intermediate-risk or high-risk). Data have demonstrated that Gallium-prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography (Ga-PSMA PET/CT) is superior to conventional radiological exams (CT or MRI and bone scintigraphy) in the primary staging of high-risk localized PCa. However, it is still unknown if in a population of high-risk PCa, there would be a subgroup of patients with a higher probability of identifying metastatic disease by the Ga-PSMA PET/CT. Read More

J Bone Miner Res 2021 Apr 26. Epub 2021 Apr 26.

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology & Diabetes, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Bone metastasis is a complication of prostate cancer in up to 90% of men afflicted with advanced disease. Therapies that reduce androgen exposure remain at the forefront of treatment. However, most prostate cancers transition to a state whereby reducing testicular androgen action becomes ineffective. Read More

J Natl Cancer Inst 2021 Apr 21. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California.

Background: Disparities in prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) between African American and non-Hispanic White (White) patients have been attributed to biological and systemic factors. We evaluated drivers of these disparities in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) national registry and an equal-access system, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

Methods: We identified African American and White patients diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2004-2015 in SEER (N = 311,691) and the VHA (N = 90,749). Read More

J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol 2021 Apr 22. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

I-MED Radiology, The Wesley Hospital, Auchenflower, Queensland, Australia.

Introduction: Radioligand therapies, or 'theranostics', have an emerging role in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Lutetium-177 (Lu), targeting prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), has demonstrated promising outcomes including reduced disease progression and improved overall survival. We aim to determine overall survival demonstrated by our LuPSMA patient cohort to date. Read More

Int J Surg Case Rep 2021 Apr 15;82:105889. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Faculty of Medicine, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Box 2240, Moshi, Tanzania; Department of Urology, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Box 3010, Moshi, Tanzania.

Introduction And Importance: Advanced prostate cancer often presents with lower urinary tract symptoms together with features of cancer on digital rectal examination. The commonest sites of metastasis include bone, liver and lungs. Metastasis to axillary lymph nodes is extremely unusual particularly as initial presentation of the disease. Read More

Drug Resist Updat 2021 May 19;56:100762. Epub 2021 Mar 19.

The Fred Wyszkowski Cancer Research Laboratory, Department of Biology, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel. Electronic address:

Prostate cancer (PC) is the second most common cause of death amongst men in the USA. Therapy of PC has been transformed in the past decade by introducing novel therapeutics, advanced functional imaging and diagnostic approaches, next generation sequencing, as well as improved application of existing therapies in localized PC. Treatment of PC at the different stages of the disease may include surgery, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Read More

JCO Glob Oncol 2021 Apr;7:550-558

Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland (IOSI), Bellinzona and Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland.

Purpose: International guideline recommendations may not always be extrapolated to developing countries where access to resources is limited. In metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC), there have been successful drug and imaging advancements that were addressed in the Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference for Developing Countries for best-practice and limited-resource scenarios.

Methods: A total of 24 out of 300 questions addressed staging, treatment, and follow-up for patients with mCSPC both in best-practice settings and resource-limited settings. Read More

Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

S.H. Ho Urology Centre, Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), either by medical or surgical castration, is the backbone for standard treatment of locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer, yet it is also associated with various metabolic and cardiovascular complications. Recent evidence have shown that obesity, insulin resistance, or metabolic disturbances can be associated with changes in the gut microbiome, while animal studies also show that castration is associated with changes in the gut microbiome. This study aims to investigate whether the fecal microbiota in prostate cancer patients who had undergone prostatectomy or ADT are different, and explore changes in phylogeny and pathways that may lead to side effects from ADT. Read More

Front Genet 2021 26;12:652747. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is by far the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men worldwide. Despite sensitivity to androgen deprivation, patients with advanced disease eventually develop resistance to therapy and may die of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). A key challenge in the management of PCa is the clinical heterogeneity that is hard to predict using existing biomarkers. Read More

Radiat Prot Dosimetry 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Medical Radiation Physics, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Skåne University Hospital, SUS Malmö, Sweden.

Radiopharmaceuticals have been used for the treatment of various forms of cancer since the 1940s. In recent years, the advantages of alpha emitting radionuclides have emerged as a favourable treatment option. However, most alpha emitting radionuclides have long decay chains with long-lived daughter radionuclides. Read More

Prostate 2021 Jun 6;81(8):452-462. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Section for Oncology, Department of Radiation Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.

Background: Prostate cancer (PC) metastasizes to the skeleton forming predominantly sclerotic lesions, and there is currently no cure for bone metastatic disease. The transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is implicated as a metastatic driver, but its potential as therapeutic target in bone metastasis has not been investigated. In this study, we evaluated for the first time a STAT3 inhibitor, Napabucasin, as a therapeutic option for bone metastatic PC. Read More

Anticancer Res 2021 Apr;41(4):1921-1926

AntiCancer, Inc., San Diego, CA, U.S.A.

Background/aim: Methionine addiction is a general and fundamental hallmark of cancer due to the excess use of methionine for transmethylation reactions, termed the "Hoffman Effect". Methionine addiction has been shown to be a highly-effective target for cancer therapy by methionine restriction with oral recombinant methioninase (o-rMETase) in preclinical studies, including patient- derived orthotopic xenograft (PDOX) mouse models of cancer. A clinical study of o-rMETase as a supplement showed a 70% reduction of PSA levels in a patient with bone-metastatic prostate cancer. Read More

Biomolecules 2021 Mar 25;11(4). Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Department of Urology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 06229, Korea.

The androgen receptor (AR) is one of the main components in the development and progression of prostate cancer (PCa), and treatment strategies are mostly directed toward manipulation of the AR pathway. In the metastatic setting, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the foundation of treatment in patients with hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (HSPC). However, treatment response is short-lived, and the majority of patients ultimately progress to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Read More

Biomedicines 2021 Mar 27;9(4). Epub 2021 Mar 27.

S. H. Urology Centre, Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

The development of castration resistance is an inevitable pathway for the vast majority of patients with advanced prostate cancer. Recently, there have been significant breakthroughs in the understanding and management options of castration-resistant prostate cancer. Three novel hormonal agents showed survival benefits in non-metastatic patients. Read More

J Pers Med 2021 Mar 8;11(3). Epub 2021 Mar 8.

Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.

The ability to predict a cancer patient's response to radiotherapy and risk of developing adverse late health effects would greatly improve personalized treatment regimens and individual outcomes. Telomeres represent a compelling biomarker of individual radiosensitivity and risk, as exposure can result in dysfunctional telomere pathologies that coincidentally overlap with many radiation-induced late effects, ranging from degenerative conditions like fibrosis and cardiovascular disease to proliferative pathologies like cancer. Here, telomere length was longitudinally assessed in a cohort of fifteen prostate cancer patients undergoing Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) utilizing Telomere Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (Telo-FISH). Read More

Drugs Context 2021 15;10. Epub 2021 Mar 15.

Department of Hematology Oncology, University Hospital Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.

Significant changes in the management of patients with de novo metastatic prostate cancer have led to the use of novel oral agents and docetaxel-based chemotherapy earlier in the natural history of their disease. Our main challenge is the lack of prospective randomized data comparing these regimens. It is clear that treatment intensification is needed. Read More

Clin Cancer Res 2021 Mar 26. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.

Purpose: As hypoxia can mediate resistance to immunotherapy, we investigated the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of combining evofosfamide, a prodrug that alleviates hypoxia, with ipilimumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, in immunologically "cold" cancers, which are intrinsically insensitive to immunotherapy, as well as in "hot/warm" metastatic cancers that are, atypical of such cancers, resistant to immunotherapy.

Patients And Methods: In a phase I, 3+3 dose-escalation trial (NCT03098160), evofosfamide (400-640 mg/m) and ipilimumab (3 mg/kg) were administered in four 3-week cycles. The former was administered on days 1 and 8 of cycles 1-2, while the latter was administered on day 8 of cycles 1-4. Read More

Future Oncol 2021 Mar 26. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

BC Cancer, Vancouver, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 4S6, Canada.

Recent innovations in the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer have improved patient outcomes. Nonetheless, this disease remains fatal and additional treatment approaches are needed. Greater understanding of the molecular landscape of metastatic prostate cancer has revealed recurrent alterations in key pathways amenable to therapeutic targeting. Read More

Cancer 2021 Mar 25. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

VA Health Services Research & Development, Center for Clinical Management and Research, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Background: Treatments for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) differ in toxicity, administration, and evidence. In this study, clinical and nonclinical factors associated with the first-line treatment for CRPC in a national delivery system were evaluated.

Methods: National electronic laboratory and clinical data from the Veterans Health Administration were used to identify patients with CRPC (ie, rising prostate-specific antigen [PSA] on androgen deprivation) who received abiraterone, enzalutamide, docetaxel, or ketoconazole from 2010 through 2017. Read More