Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases

A Lifestyle Intervention of Weight Loss via a Low-Carbohydrate Diet Plus Walking to Reduce Metabolic Disturbances Caused by Androgen Deprivation Therapy Among Prostate Cancer Patients: Carbohydrate and Prostate Study 1 (CAPS1) Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose - The objective of this study was to test a low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) plus walking to reduce androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)-induced metabolic disturbances.

Materials and methods - This randomized multi-center trial of prostate cancer (PCa) patients initiating ADT was designed to compare an LCD (≤20g

Low-carbohydrate Diet Plus Walking to Reduce ADT-induced Metabolic Disturbances Among Prostate Cancer Patients - Commentary

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is standard treatment for advanced and metastatic prostate cancer. While it is very effective for cancer control, it has many side effects. Commonly known side effects include loss of libido, fatigue, osteoporosis, and hot flashes. Additionally, ADT has metabolic side effects. Imagine a young athlete using steroids to have a competitive advantage. They gain muscle mass and lose fat. Now imagine the same man 50 years later undergoing ADT for his prostate cancer – it will have the exact opposite effects – gain of fat mass and loss of muscle mass.

These changes are coupled with a ~40% increased relative risk of diabetes. While exercise can help preserve muscle mass, to date, no treatment has been shown to prevent this metabolic sequela. Given one of the fundamental problems from ADT is problems with controlling sugar, what if people simply didn’t eat sugar?

There is tremendous growth in interest in the ketogenic diet, an extreme form on a low carbohydrate (i.e. sugar) diet. Proponents often tout it as the cure-all for diabetes, obesity, and possibly even cancer. Opponents argue that it is not sustainable, is bad for the environment, and it simply can’t be healthy to eat all that fat. Where

The Efficacy and Morbidity of a Salvage Prostatectomy Series in the Management of Recurrent Prostate Cancer After Radiotherapy - Editorial

Radiotherapy is a mainstay of treatment for localized prostate cancer. Biochemical recurrence after radiotherapy, defined as a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) rise of ≥ 2 ng/mL above nadir, occurs in up to 40% of intermediate- and high-risk patients within 10 years of treatment (Eur. Urol. 67, 1009–1016 (2015). Patients with biochemical recurrence are at increased risks of metastases and death (J. Clin. Oncol. 23, 6992–6998 (2005)).

In patients with biochemical recurrence after radiation, biopsy-proven localized disease, and no evidence of metastases, salvage prostatectomy may potentially improve survival and delay initiation of androgen deprivation therapy. This National Cancer Institute-sponsored multi-institutional study, CALGB 9687 (Alliance), prospectively evaluated the efficacy and morbidity of salvage prostatectomy in 41 men between 1997 and 2006 (Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2019 May; 22(2):309-316). At a median follow-up 91 months, these investigators observed robust 2-, 5- and 10-year progression-free survival rates of 51%, 39%, and 33% respectively; and 2-, 5- and 10-year overall survival rates of 100%, 89%, and 52%, respectively.

Management of Recurrent Prostate Cancer After Radiotherapy: Longterm Results from CALGB 9687 (Alliance), a Prospective Multiinstitutional Salvage Prostatectomy Series - Full Text Article

Background - To evaluate efficacy and morbidity prospectively in a contemporary multi-institutional salvage radical prostatectomy (SRP) series.


Methods - Forty-one men were enrolled between 1997 and 2006, who suffered biopsy-proven recurrent prostate cancer (CaP) after receiving ≥ 60c Gy radiation as primary treatment for cT1–2NXM0 disease. Surgical morbidity, quality of life, biochemical progression-free survival (BPFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated.

Impact of Age, Comorbidity, and PSA Doubling Time on Long-Term Competing Risks for Mortality Among Men with Non-Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer - Full Text Article

Background - Understanding competing risks for mortality is critical in determining prognosis among men with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC), a disease state that often affects older men and has substantial heterogeneity in risk of cancer mortality. We sought to determine the impact of age, comorbidity, and PSA doubling time (PSADT) on competing risks for mortality in men with nmCRPC.

Understanding Competing Risks for Mortality Among Men with Nonmetastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer 

A pressing issue facing men with a rising PSA despite hormone therapy is whether to pursue more potent androgen receptor inhibition. While novel PET imaging such as PSMA scans are reducing the size of this M0 CRPC population, this setting remains fairly common in regions of the world where PSA screening is common and men are treated for initially localized prostate cancer. Relapsed disease is first manifested as a PSA rise, and many urologists and oncologists will utilize androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) prior to the onset of visible metastases on standard CT/MRI or technetium bone scans. We know that most of these men have metastases, but these metastases remain small and below the limit of detection of these scans. We also know that most of these men will likely die of metastatic prostate cancer over the next 4-8 years, and therapies that can delay or prevent prostate cancer-specific mortality are needed.

Recent phase 3 trials suggest that both apalutamide, enzalutamide, and darolutamide can delay metastasis-free survival (MFS) significantly in such men with M0 CRPC who have rapid PSA doubling times (<10 mo) and an elevated PSA of 2.0 or higher. These men may have disease in their prostates or regional nodal