The Role of Remote Interactions in Genitourinary Oncology: Implications for Practice Change in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Written by Christopher J.D. Wallis, MD, PhD and Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc
August 31, 2020
The rapid spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has dramatically reshaped the structure of Western society, including on health care delivery.
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PARP Inhibitors in Prostate Cancer
Written by Christopher J.D. Wallis, MD, PhD and Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc
July 2, 2020
Prostate cancer is a clinically heterogeneous disease with many patients having an indolent course requiring no interventions and others who either present with or progress to metastasis. While underlying dominant driving mutations are not widespread, there have been a number of key genomic mutations that have been consistently identified in prostate cancer patients,
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The Impact of COVID-19 on Oncology Clinical Trials
Written by Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc and Christopher J.D. Wallis, MD, PhD
May 14, 2020
The coronavirus has the potential to impact the integrity and patient safety of ongoing trials as well as increase the operational burden on trial programs, therefore potentially limiting access to trials and new therapies for oncology patients. Opportunities for clinical trial enrollment may still be provided to patients during the COVID-19 outbreak, but likely require thorough evaluation on a case-by-case basis.
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Prostate Cancer Survivorship
Written by Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc and Christopher J.D. Wallis, MD, PhD
December 10, 2019
Despite prostate cancer (PCa) being the second most common cause of cancer mortality among American men,1 there are 2.9 million men in the United States living with PCa. As such, there are many “PCa survivors” that are either on active surveillance (AS)/watchful waiting (WW) or have undergone treatment for localized (ie. radiation therapy (RT), radical prostatectomy (RP), focal therapy, etc) or advanced disease.
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The Genetics of Prostate Cancer
Written by Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc
December 18, 2019
Understanding and elucidating the underlying genetic basis of carcinogenesis has been the holy grail for cancer researchers, for both the scientific understanding of disease pathophysiology and potential therapeutic implications. Perhaps the best example of the therapeutic implications of understanding carcinogenesis come from chronic myeloid leukemia where the identification of the “Philadelphia chromosome”;
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The Current Status of Immunotherapy for Prostate Cancer
Written by Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc
November 15, 2019
Despite the exciting advances in treatment over the last decade for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), the disease remains incurable with a median overall survival of 12-35 months.
1-4 Targeting the immune system to expand treatment options in the advanced disease state has resulted in significant improvements
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Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer – Treatment of the Primary Tumor and Metastasis Directed Therapy
Written by Hanan Goldberg, MD
December 10, 2019
In 2018 1.3 million prostate cancer (PCa) cases were diagnosed worldwide, with approximately 20% having metastatic disease.
1 Oligometastatic PCa is defined as a state of low-volume metastatic disease that appears to be prognostically different and likely amenable to different treatment options, which could potentially change the disease trajectory when compared with high-volume metastatic disease.
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Epidemiology and Etiology of Prostate Cancer
Written by Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc
April 16, 2019
In 2018 in the United States, there will be an estimated 164,690 new cases of prostate cancer (19% of all male cancer incident cases, 1st) and an estimated 29,430 prostate cancer mortalities (9% of all male cancer deaths, 2nd only to lung/bronchus cancer).
1 Over the last four decades, there was a spike
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Prostate Cancer and Tumor Markers
Written by Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc
April 16, 2019
The discovery of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the late 1970s and its widespread application and adoption in the 1980s and 1990s ushered in the prostate cancer screening and disease monitoring era. As the first tumor marker for prostate cancer, it is organ specific but not cancer specific.
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Diagnosing and Staging of Prostate Cancer
Written by Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc
April 16, 2019
Secondary to the introduction of prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening in the 1980’s/1990’s, symptomatic presentation of prostate cancer has become less frequent. Symptoms of locally advanced prostate cancer may include obstructive urinary symptoms, gross hematuria, and/or upper tract urinary obstruction leading to renal failure.
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Prostate Cancer and Utilization of Multi-Parametric MRI
Written by Zachary Klaassen, MD, MSc
April 16, 2019
Over the last decade, imaging for prostate cancer has improved immensely. Specifically, prostate multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) has improved primarily as a result of an increase in magnet strength from 1 to 3-tesla. mpMRI consists of anatomic and functional imaging techniques:
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