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Diagnostic Evaluation Of PSA Recurrence And Review Of Hormonal Management After Radical Prostatectomy
UroToday.com - At present, no consensus exists on how patients with PSA recurrence after radical prostatectomy (RP) should be treated. Although patients with postoperative PSA recurrence frequently undergo androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) before evidence of metastatic disease, the benefit of this approach is uncertain. As no randomized studies are performed in this clinical setting there is no conclusive evidence that hormone therapy (HT) after RP will prolong survival or reduce morbidity.
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Black Women In Washington, D.C., Have Higher Rate Of AIDS Than Other Women, Study Finds
Black women in Washington, D.C., have higher rates of AIDS and other chronic health conditions such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease than women of other races, according to a study released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Washington Post reports. According to the study - which is based on CDC and federal population data - the incidence of AIDS cases for black women is 176 per 100,000, higher than that of any other group of women in the district. Lack of education, poverty, unemployment, stress, and inadequate living conditions and health care coverage contribute to black women"s poorer health, the study finds (Fears, Washington Post, 6/10).
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Smoking Bans Do Not Cause Job Losses In Bars And Restaurants
New research suggests that exempting bars from community smoking bans makes no economic difference in terms of preserving bar employment, and that even the most comprehensive clean indoor air policies do not lead to a reduction in hospitality jobs.
Cardiovascular

Cancer Vaccines Led To Long-Term Survival For Patients With Metastatic Melanoma, Study Shows

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian announced promising data from a clinical study showing patient-specific cancer vaccines derived from patients" own cancer cells and immune cells were well tolerated and resulted in impressive long-term survival rates in patients with metastatic melanoma whose disease had been minimized by other therapies. The study entitled "Phase II Trial of Dendritic Cells Loaded with Antigens from Self-Renewing, Proliferating Autologous Tumor Cells as Patient-Specific Anti-Tumor Vaccines in Patients with Metastatic Melanoma," was published in the June 2009 issue of Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals and was sponsored by Hoag Hospital Foundation. "There is continued interest in developing new therapies for melanoma patients with recurrent or distant metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis because there are no systemic therapies that can be relied upon to cure them," said Robert O. Dillman, M.D., F.A.C.P., executive medical and scientific director at the Hoag Cancer Center and lead investigator for the study. "Patients with metastatic melanoma are at high risk for additional metastases and death." During the study, 54 patients with regionally recurrent or distant metastatic melanoma were injected with a vaccine that included each patient"s own immune cells (dendritic cells) and 500 micrograms of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), an immune stimulator, three times a week and then monthly for five months for a total of up to eight injections. The patient"s dendritic cells were obtained from their peripheral blood and mixed with a cell culture of the patient"s own melanoma cells that had been self-renewing and proliferating in the laboratory. The patient-specific vaccine is designed to stimulate the patient"s immune system to react against tumor stem cells or early progenitor cells that can create new depots of cancer throughout the body. Data showed that the projected five-year survival rate is 54% at a median follow up of 4.5 years (range 2.4 to 7.4) for the 30 surviving patients. Although not a direct comparison, the results are superior to those observed following vaccination with irradiated tumor cells in 48 melanoma patients in a previous trial (64 vs. 31 months, p=.016). Eight patients in the dendritic cell vaccine study experienced remarkable long-term, progression-free survival after completing the vaccine therapy, even though they had widely metastatic disease and/or repeated appearance of new metastases despite various therapies. The vaccine treatment was well-tolerated, with most patients experiencing mild skin irritation and redness at the injection site. "The one-year and projected five-year survival rates of 85% and 54%, respectively, are remarkable for melanoma patients with documented metastatic disease," said Dr. Dillman. "This study is extremely encouraging and shows the potential these types of personalized cancer vaccines have for patients diagnosed with metastatic melanoma." Kelly Smith Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian


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