Should We Use PSA to Find Active Surveillance Candidates?
As a patient on active surveillance (AS) since 2010, I always considered AS a solution for men like me with very low-risk prostate cancer. Is it time to rethink that? E. David Crawford, MD, a urologist and a long-time prostate cancer researcher, surprised me when he explained that in his view, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing […]
Military Exposure to Burn Pits Under Scrutiny
Doctors, scientists, and patient advocates described the tremendous harms of burn pits to active duty service members and veterans, ranging from cancers to severe respiratory illness and death, during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel on Wednesday. Subcommittee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) opened the hearing by stating that service […]
Erdafitinib Continues to Show Efficacy in Urothelial Carcinoma
The pan-FGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor erdafitinib (Balversa) was active and safe in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma, according to long-term follow-up of a phase II study. At a median follow-up of 24 months, the investigator-assessed objective response rate (ORR) was 40% among 101 patients with prespecified FGFR alterations treated with erdafitinib, reported […]
Can Prostate Cancer Patients on AS Delay Surgery at Progression?
Among men with clinically localized prostate cancer who continued active surveillance (AS) after biopsy progression, delaying surgery did not significantly reduce recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates or increase the risk of adverse pathology, researchers reported. In a prospectively followed cohort, men on AS who underwent early radical prostatectomy (RP) had a 3-year RFS rate of 80%, […]
One-Word Change in Prostate Cancer Guideline Has Some Urologists in Arms
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is under fire for removing active surveillance’s (AS) “preferred” status in its low-risk prostate cancer guidelines. AS has been listed as preferred since 2019, and the change puts it on par with radical prostatectomy and radiation therapy in this patient population. Edward “Ted” Schaeffer, MD, PhD, chairman of the […]
Bifunctional Protein Shows Promise in HPV-Related Cancers
A bifunctional fusion protein with immunotherapeutic activity proved active in advanced, difficult-to-treat cancers associated with human papillomavirus (HPV), according to pooled data from two prospective studies. Overall, 21 of 75 patients had confirmed responses with bintrafusp alfa, which inhibits tumor growth factor-beta (TGF-β) and PD-L1 interaction with its receptor. Responses were durable in many cases […]
Surveillance for Prostate Cancer Is on the Rise — Do Men Stick It Out?
While the uptake of active surveillance (AS) for low-risk prostate cancer has increased over time, about half of patients eventually discontinue this strategy, according to an observational Canadian population-based study. The use of AS increased from 38% in 2008 to 69% in 2014; however, over this study period, 50.8% of patients discontinued AS and proceeded […]