Applying population dynamics modeling to patients with lymph node positive prostate cancer.

Purpose: We previously reported the applications of population dynamics modeling on cancer populations. Cancer death populations show a reproducible progression from an essentially linear phase, in which cure is likely, through a Gompertzian phase of advancing disease to an exponential phase of incurable disease. The latter 2 phases meet at an inflection, at which the disease process becomes incurable.

Integrating metastasectomy in the management of advanced urological malignancies-where are we in 2005?

Purpose: In the past patients with metastatic cancer were considered incurable and they were not candidates for surgical management of metastases. However, experience with testicular cancer has shown that metastasectomy can often be the final, critical step in achieving disease-free status. We summarized the most current data on metastasectomy for advanced urological malignancies.

Radical prostatectomy for clinical T4 prostate cancer.

Background: Occasionally, patients with clinical T4 (cT4) prostate cancer undergo surgery. Published data on outcomes after radical prostatectomy (RP) in patients with such advanced stage disease and on the impact of adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) and hormone therapy (HT) are nonexistent.

Methods: Data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data base were reviewed for the 7-year period from 1995 to 2001.

Molecular insights into prostate cancer progression: the missing link of tumor microenvironment.

Purpose: Tumor cell genotype and phenotype have been considered the only determinants supporting cancer growth and metastasis. This review focuses on the published literature that suggests that tumor-microenvironment interaction has a decisive role in controlling local cancer growth, invasion and distant metastasis. As this review shows, genetic alterations in prostate cancer cells alone are not enough to confer metastatic status without a supporting tumor microenvironment.

Clinical and biomarker correlates of androgen-independent, locally aggressive prostate cancer with limited metastatic potential.

Purpose: We have identified a subset of patients exhibiting extended survival with metastases from androgenindependent prostate cancer of which the principal site of progression was the tumor primary. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the expression of selected biomarkers to characterize this subset of prostate cancer patients.

Experimental Design: A 105 core tissue microarray was constructed from primary tumor samples from 16 patients, with matched lymph node metastases in 5 cases.

Novel therapeutic strategies for androgen-independent prostate cancer: an update.

Close to 30,000 men will die from prostate cancer in the United States in 2003. Hormonal ablation, the basis of systemic therapy, will invariably fail to control the progression of metastatic prostate cancer in the long run. For many years the only available therapeutic modalities for patients with metastatic androgen independent prostate cancer have been second-line hormonal maneuvers with estrogens or steroids and chemotherapy.

Primary retroperitoneal teratomas: a review of the literature.

Teratomas are uncommon neoplasms comprised of mixed dermal elements derived from the three germ cell layers. Historically, teratomas were attributed to demons, sexual misconduct, and abnormal fertilization. They attract attention because of their bizarre histology and gross appearance.

A phase III trial of sequential adjuvant chemotherapy for operable breast carcinoma: final analysis with 10-year follow-up.

Background: The current study was performed to assess whether sequential potentially noncross-resistant chemotherapy prolongs disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with operable breast carcinoma.

Methods: Seven hundred eighty-nine patients were registered and followed for a median of 10 years. They were treated in two groups.

Phase II trial of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and dexamethasone in the treatment of androgen-independent prostate carcinoma.

Background: In this Phase II study, the authors assessed the toxicity and anti-tumor activity of a combination of oral cyclophosphamide, oral low-dose dexamethasone, and intravenous vincristine (CVD) in patients with metastatic androgen-independent prostate carcinoma (AI-PCa).

Methods: Patients with histologic proof of adenocarcinoma of the prostate progressing despite adequate hormonal therapy and adequate organ function were treated with oral cyclophosphamide, 250 mg/daily (Days 1-14); intravenous vincristine, 1 mg daily (Days 1, 8, 15); and oral dexamethasone, 0.75 mg twice a day (Days 1-14) in 28-day cycles.

Recent advances in aromatase inhibitor therapy for breast cancer.

Third-generation aromatase inhibitors (anastrozole, letrozole, and exemestane) have emerged as an alternative first-line endocrine treatment for postmenopausal breast cancer patients with hormone-responsive disease. Their clinical efficacy, excellent tolerability, and safety profile compare favorably with that of tamoxifen, which has been the cornerstone of endocrine therapy for years. This review will discuss the findings of recently published randomized clinical trials comparing this new class of drugs with tamoxifen as first-line treatment for advanced disease.