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October 2007 / Prostate Cancer 101 Newsletter /

The Prostate Cancer Information and Support Group of the Mid-Hudson

Prostate Cancer 101, Inc.

http://prostatecancer101.org

October, 2007

Newsletter

Save the date and mark your calendars for Tuesday, October 16th, to hear Dr. Chang tell us all about the new da Vinci Robotic Prostatectomy protocol available at St. Luke’s Hospital in New-burgh. Dr. Chang and his trusty team have captured this state of the art robotic tool for their hos-pital and we are fortunate that he will be relating the advantages of this procedure to us. Though he is still a young man, Dr. Chang has shown a marked enthusiasm and innate facility for his chosen field in prostate cancer treatment. His bona fides are such that his hospital and the da Vinci manufacturer have faith in his abilities, which is certainly a recommendation to us all. Dr. Chang obtained his B.S. in General Science at Penn State University and was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Delta Na-tional Pre-Med Honor Society and the Golden Key National

Honor Society. He is a gradu-ate of Jefferson Medical Col-lege where he was part of the Curriculum Committee, Jeff HOPE (Health Opportunity Prevention Education) – clin-ics, Community Health Fair Committee (screening and education for the underserved) and was part of the Jefferson-Penn State 6 year BS-MD Ac-celerated Program. He served his internship at Pennsylvania Hospital in Gen-eral Surgery and residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (Urology) where he was Chief Resident. His fel-lowship was at New York Medical College in the De-partment of Urology where he became a fellow in Robotics, Laparoscopy and Endourol-ogy. His publications include From Davis to da Vinci: The Evolution in the Treatment of Ureteropelvic Junction Ob-

struction - video with M. Da-valos and M. Eshghi; Outcomes of Hand-Assisted Laparoscopic Nephrectomy in Technically Challenging Cases – with P. Kalra, D.T. Glassman, L.G. Gomella, S.E. Strup, D.E. McGinnis, D.R. Simon, D.S. Bryne and R.L. Kuo along with another nine or so informative papers. Dr. Chang is fluent in Manda-rin, and has skills in Spanish and Taiwanese, is involved in his church in a number of facili-ties including the art of music. He has also been a Bible study leader and taught English as a Second Language. Be sure to come Tuesday, Oc-tober 16th at 4:30 P.M. at the Hurley Reformed Church in Hurley to hear this man for all seasons who will answer your questions after his presentation. Lend your support and open your horizons!

Our Guest Speaker will be Dr. Mark Chang

On October 16, 2007


An Adventure in Atlanta By Gene Groelle

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the IMPaCT (Innovative Minds in Prostate Cancer Today) conference held Sept 5-8 in Atlanta at the Hyatt Regency hotel. Attendees in-cluded 600 researchers/scientists who had received DOD research grants and 100 consumers (survivors) who had served as “consumer reviewers” at past peer review conferences. A few words about the hotel and Atlanta: The Hyatt Regency is located on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta. The hotel, now 40 years old, has been im-maculately maintained. Some of you may recall all the publicity and hullabaloo when it first opened. This Hyatt was the first with a bottom to top (24 floors) atrium; glass elevators running on the outside of a tower within the atrium, etc. Pictures and PR write-ups were all over TV and the newspapers when it opened 40 years ago......do you remem-ber “when we were oh so young”? It’s a very impressive hotel to this day! With the first sessions scheduled for 7am, it meant 6am wake-up calls and two of the three days conferences went un-til 9pm. That meant no Atlanta sightseeing opportunities. The 3rd day finished at 6pm and I took the opportunity to get in a

southern style rib dinner at a nearby restaurant. Yum! I never got more than a couple of blocks from the hotel, but if all Atlanta is anything like that area, it’s a clean and friendly city. An interesting Atlanta innovation is something called the “Downtown Ambassadors.” These are people in distinctive uniforms standing on the side-walks whose only job is to search out visitors in need of assistance and to help them. Most are female and usually on foot, but some are on Segway’s. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud the first time I saw a “70's something” petite (less than 5 feet) white haired lady buzzing up to a couple of lost souls on her Segway and asking if she could be of help. It’s my under-standing that they get near mini-mum wage plus all the tips they can gather as a result of their assistance. Makes them proac-tive, I guess. I’ll have to tell Mayor Bloomberg....should work great around Manhattan. The conference itself consisted of sessions throughout the day; sometimes plenary and at other times a half dozen go-ing on at once and you picked the particular one you wanted to

attend. Many times you wanted to be in two places at once. At other times, they may have all been on “cell biology” or some such ar-cane subject that was beyond a layman’s ability to grasp.....at least this layman. Some of what I learned: The “business” of PCa is alive and well for MD’s. The gov-ernment has quelled the Lupron rip- off, only to be replaced by the “MD owned IMRT facility” rip-off. This presentation was done by a very “up front” MD who characterized the FDA as a good organization, just too slow. The hunt for a better bio-marker to replace PSA testing is a very active area of research and looks promising. All support groups are having the same difficulty we’re having in “reaching” the black community. No real answers that PCa101 could use were forthcom-ing except what we already know…”trust” is a big factor and the black female community must somehow be involved before any-thing positive can happen There is still no definitive refractory PCa chemo, but there are some promising ongoing and proposed clinical trials. It won’t happen tomorrow!


Thank you for your Contributions

Joseph & Harriet Batty Fred & LaVerne Boos

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Andrea Epstein Leonard Jamiolkowski

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house Leonard & Marlene Nel-

son Daniel & Margaret Sick-

les Joseph & Helen Sullivan Paul & Mary Ann Totta

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The research community very well understands that the “consumer”(you and me) is smart enough to not be looking for a “cure,” but a breakthrough that will move PCa to the “chronic” disease list, ala diabetes. Probably the most valuable thing that I walked away with was what I learned from interfacing with other “consumers” from around the country. Our friends from Poughkeepsie M2M were represented by Dennis O’Hara, Paul Totta, and Jim Kiseda. Al-bany Us Too was represented by Glenn Spielman and Bill Scanlon. I also got to meet and spend time with two guys who are very active laymen on the PCAI board, Chuck Maack and Jim Waldenfils. Both are and have been a font of good information and a great help to many. It’s amazing to meet Chuck and see how much he is like Ron Koster, both physically and personality wise. A number of our past speaker friends were also there. Dr Catalona, Dr Scher, Dr Petry-lak, Dick and Desiree Howe. My former MSKCC med/onc, Susan Slovin, also presented. I had a long chat with Dr Slovin and short chats with Dr Catalona and Dick Howe. I offered PCa101 greetings to both and told both that they’re welcome to speak again in Hurley if they’re ever in the area. One of the great things at a conference of this type is that you

can walk up to anyone with a question or just to start a conver-sation, if you can catch them in a free moment. No condescension, everyone is on the same plane....a conference attendee! The Pok guys and I had a great informa-tive chat with the vice chairman of the Pittsburgh University pa-thology department. Our conver-sation ranged all over the lot. A great guy. I’ll probably hit him up with questions in the future. The keynote speakers were out-standing. General Eric Schoonmaker (he was put in charge of Walter Reed Hospital when the former head was fired early this year for hous-ing wounded vets in substandard quarters). Andrew von Eschenbach (FDA head), Dr Don Coffey, the Johns Hopkins researcher who was Ron Koster’s #1 wish as a speaker, but Ron was never able to pull it off. Dennis O’Hara ap-proached him about possibly speaking to Pok M2M. Dr Coffey said that he can only be away from John Hopkins a very limited amount of time, but would be open to doing a teleconference type session). Dr Coffey is a very funny man with a curmudgeon style, ala Andy Rooney. Michael Milkin. All in all, it was a pleasur-able and informative three days well spent. I’d do it again in a NY minute!


quirer, which reported that Grif-fin’s prostate cancer had spread to his bones, bladder, back and lungs. A catheter was put into his bladder to ease urination; blood was drained from his lungs. A spokeswoman for The Griffin Group replied to a patient’s query: “1996. treated by radia-tion. brief episode in 1999. Re-appeared as small spots on bone 2 months ago, and spread rap-idly and aggressively, and there was some chemo. . . . Merv had frequent check-ups and always came away with a clean bill of health until the day he didn’t.” Why bury the fact that he knew years ago that his cancer had come back? “Always a clean bill of health” does not fit with what Merv’s son Tony Griffin told Larry King Live on August 23. Griffin was treated with radia-tion in 1996. According to Tony, he knew his prostate can-cer had come back 4 or 5 years before he died. He received fol-low up treatment for recurrent prostate cancer from a specialist at Cedars-Sinai. Merv Griffin made none of this public at the time. In fact, he did not tell his son what was really happening

until entering hospital about 6 weeks before he died. In early July this year, Merv’s assistant called in Merv’s son for what they both perceived as a breathing problem related to smoking. Merv was very ill and needed day and night assistance to get from couch to bed to bath-room. Merv was in pain, which grew worse. He entered Cedars- Sinai Medical Center. There he told his son that the prostate cancer had progressed to his bones. He died 33 days later af-ter 5 days in the ICU. Here’s what Tony Griffin told Larry King, August 13: The end seems to be a little bit more longer than most people know. He got sick six to seven weeks prior to him dying…. And sick I mean he — his assis-tant, Ronnie Ward, called me and said, “Come on over here. You need to see your dad. He’s really wheezing.” I go, “What is he smoking?” He goes, “Oh, yes, he’s smok-ing.” I said, “Oh, Ronnie, get those cigarettes from him.” He goes, “I can’t, I can’t.” So I come over and he was hav-ing trouble moving from the

Merv Griffin Fought Recurrent Prostate Cancer for Four or Five Years

psa rising

When Merv Griffin died on Au-gust 12, his family said on his website : Griffin, who turned 82 on July 6th, was recently diagnosed dur-ing a routine examination with a recurrence of the prostate cancer that he had overcome more than a decade ago. Its aggressive pro-gression to other organs was un-expected and immediate, ac-cording to his doctors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los An-geles. The notion of a sudden fatal re-surgence may mislead other men who are fighting prostate cancer. This description of Griffin as “recently diagnosed” during a “routine examination” with a recurrence of a cancer “overcome” a decade ago sur-prised some prostate cancer pa-tients and alarmed others. It really doesn’t fit with the typical pattern of prostate cancer recur-rence and progression. It’s not how most patients who suffer recurrence learn about it. The statement by the Cedars-Sinai doctors may have been intended to preserve Griffin’s privacy and to assure family members that nothing more could have been done. More de-tail came from The National En-


runs the cancer lab. And I guess they were treating it. I’m not sure. I’m not clear. KING: Did he know he was dy-ing? T. GRIFFIN: The last 33 days in the hospital he kept asking me every day if he was dying. So he — he kind of knew. I mean it was getting worse and worse so…. “ (from CNN transcript, August 13) About one third of men who are treated for prostate cancer do ex-perience recurrence. And close to 30 thousand of these men a year die of metastatic prostate cancer, i.e. of prostate cancer progressed to other organs, typically to bone and commonly also to liver, lungs, and/or brain. Usually, men whose prostate can-cer comes back, either immedi-ately or years after initial therapy with surgery and/or radiation and or/androgen blockade, are likely to know about this, from regular follow-up tests, months or years before the disease reaches final, exponentially metastatic stages. Recurrent prostate cancer is usu-ally treated with various types and levels of hormonal manipulation and with chemotherapy. Newer treatments, some already ap-proved and some in clinical trials, include monoclonal antibodies and immunotherapies. Source: psa rising

couch to the bathroom to the bed-room. And we knew something was wrong and he didn’t want any of us to stay. He wanted someone staying there at night. So Ronnie and I started switching off nights and taking care of him and switching off days. We didn’t leave him. And then he was having pain here. And so we said, well, jeez, dad, you’ve got to go to the hospital. And I was at home and my cousin Mike called me and said, hey, he just went to the hospital because he went in to see about the pain. It was right before July 4th. So it was on July 3rd. So he went in the hospital. So I said, “Dad, what are you doing here? What’s going on?” And he finally told me he — his prostate cancer had metastasized to his bones. KING: Now, he told everyone he had beaten prostate cancer. T. GRIFFIN: Yes, I know. KING: He hadn’t? T. GRIFFIN: No. KING: He didn’t at the time? T. GRIFFIN: How do you — you know, how do you quantify it? I don’t know. He — I guess about three or four years ago, he had not told any of us and went to this specialist, Dr. David Agus and who is the chief guy at Cedars,

Pectin in Fruits category: prostate, Pec-tin, Cancer, Vegetables, Fruits, Food News posted by jacquie @ 6:32 pm Pectin, a type of fiber found in fruits and vegetables and used in making jams and other foods, kills prostate cancer cells according to a new University of Georgia study. “What this paper shows is that if you take human pros-tate cancer cells and add pectin, you can induce pro-grammed cell death,” said Debra Mohnen, a professor of biochemistry and molecu-lar biology. “If you do the same with non-cancerous cells, cell death doesn’t oc-cur.” Mohnen’s study, published in the August issue of the journal Glycobiology, found that exposing prostate cancer cells to pectin under labo-

ratory conditions re-

duced the number of

cells by up to 40 per-

cent. Mohnen, a UGA


Thorne brand (heat-treated), Pec-tasol (pH treated) and standard grade unmodified citrus pectin. Mohnen found large differences in anti-cancer activity. They found that treatment under mild base conditions (as in Pectasol) decreased the anti-cancer proper-ties of pectin while heat treat-ment (Thorne brand) signifi-cantly increased anti-cancer ac-tivity. Pectin, Mohnen explains, is one of nature’s most complex molecules and has the potential to bind to several sites on cells and to elicit several different cel-lular responses at the same time. Mohnen and her team are work-ing to identify the smallest struc-ture within pectin that can induce apoptosis with the ultimate goal of developing pectin-based phar-maceuticals or foods with en-hanced health benefits. Mohnen said that more evidence is needed to support the use of specific pectin supplements, but said that most Americans would do well to increase their intake of fruits and vegetables. “Even though we hear constantly that we’re supposed to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, it wasn’t

until we started working on these studies that it finally hit home how really important that was,” she said. “By simply increasing your intake of fruits of vegetables, you’re going to get a lot of pectin and you’re go-ing to get all of the other beneficial phytochemicals at the same time.” The research was funded by the Georgia Cancer Coalition-Georgia Department of Human Resources, the University of Georgia-Medical College of Georgia Joint Intramu-ral Grants Program and the federal Department of Energy. The authors state that they have no financial conflicts of interest. Sources: University of Georgia Pectin induces apoptosis in hu-man prostate cancer cells: corre-lation of apoptotic function with pectin structure. Glycobiology 2 0 0 7 1 7 ( 8 ) : 8 0 5 - 8 1 9 ; doi:10.1093/glycob/cwm054 More on this topic — in reply to the reader who pressed us to identify the brands, I give a more detailed summary of the Georgia research-ers’ article in One Brand of Modi-fied Citrus Pectin Kills Prostate Cancer Cells, Another Brand Has “Little Activity” Researchers Say. Source:psa rising

Cancer Center researcher,

her UGA colleagues and Vijay Kumar, chief of research and devel-opment at the VA Medical Center in Augusta, found that the cells self-destructed in a process known as apoptosis. Pectin even killed cells that aren’t sensitive to hor-mone therapy and therefore are dif-ficult to treat with current medica-tions. A substance known as modified citrus pectin has been under study for treating prostate cancer for about a decade. Mohnen’s study adds to the growing body of evi-dence on the health benefits of pec-tin. Cancer studies using rats and cell cultures have found that pectin can reduce metastasis and prevent lung and colon tumors. Another study found that pectin induces apoptosis in colon cancer cells. Mohnen’s is the first to show that pectin induces apoptosis in prostate cancer cells and brings scientists closer to understanding what makes the common component of plants an effective cancer fighter. In her lab at UGA’s Complex Car-bohydrate Research Center, Mohnen and her team analyzed three different types of commer-cially available pectin, namely


WKNY on the Jodi McTague show with guest appearance by our own Ken Brett. I was lucky enough to share the airwaves and the time with Jennifer to talk about the prostate cancer cause and our own group. A truly de-lightful experience for me with a fine young woman. Brian Kenny and Ward Todd shared Master of Ceremonies du-ties. Our live auction, headed by David Thornton, was a smashing success – Opening day tickets for the Mets, a condo in St. Croix for 6, dinner for 8 at LaStazione, signed boxing gloves from Jake LaMotta, Ken Norton and even from Muhammad Ali, a Leroy Neiman print of Earl “the Pearl” Monroe, signed by the artist and signed that evening by Mr. Mon-roe and ever so much more. The highlight of the evening – a signed glove from Joe Frazier, an autographed copy of his book and a picture taken with the man him-self. Silent auction items included gift certificates for dinners at local restaurants, golf outings, a “Moose” Skowron baseball bat, a trolley tour and more than you can imagine. There was some-thing for everyone, not only in

high ticket items, but in gifts that most of us could manage. Liveliness was the theme of the evening. Due to the hard work of a lot of kind people enough money was raised for us to be able to contribute over $13,000 to the Prostate Cancer Research Insti-tute and to help our own or-ganization stay solvent for some time to come. To all of the local businesses who leant their support and dollars to help make this such a wonderful success, our heart-felt thanks. To the Patterson Family – our grateful thanks for sharing the memories of a fine gentleman and for being the wonderful people you are. Most of all, thanks to our own Frank Guido (and his assistant, Kim Whelly) for thinking of this fundraiser and working harder than anyone to make it come to fruition. Bless you always and keep you well. The pleasure was all ours, Diane Sutkowski, Treasurer.

March 15, 2007 – Mariner’s Harbor event With grateful thanks to Frank Guido, his committee,

The Floyd Patterson Foundation for Prostate Cancer Care And the wonderful family of Mr. Patterson

We’re sharing pictures and memories of a marvelous eve-ning that brought a lot of atten-tion to our own organization and the prostate cancer cause. A lot of people on the committee and in attendance didn’t know who we were, but with the write-ups and flyers distributed that eve-ning they should have some idea now. This wonderful fund raiser brought PCa101 to the attention of a lot of the movers and shak-ers in Kingston circles; political, cultural and otherwise. Those who came, some 250-300, had delicious canapés, carving stations and the chance to rub elbows with sports greats. Joe Frazier, heavyweight boxing champion, was kind and gra-cious to everyone who asked for his autograph and attention. I was touched to see a young boy kneeling at his feet in rapt con-versation with Mr. Frazier while he got his requested autograph on a Mariner’s Harbor napkin. Greatness comes in many forms. Mr. Patterson’s family lent their support, attendance and grace to the evening. Jennifer Patterson, Floyd’s daughter did two radio shows to promote the event; WGHQ with Ward Todd and


March 15, 2007 – Mariner’s Harbor event A few pictures taken at the Event

Win a prize. I’ll take your cash!! Joe Frazier

Marilyn Koster, Fred Bell, Arlene Ryan, Walt Sutkowski

Where in the World is Rich De Lorenzo??

Frank Guido and Jennifer Patterson


PSA relapse- free survival as the goal, and ranking the prostate can-cer risk before treatment: : low risk prostate cancer, goal reached by 82% intermediate risk, by 70% high-risk prostate cancer, by 48% Seed implants are now a widely-accepted treatment option for early stage prostate cancer. The method is less invasive than sur-gery and quicker than external beam radiation. The seeds, similar in size to a grain of rice, if prop-erly implanted deliver concen-trated radiation to the prostate while sparing surrounding organs and tissue. Patients treated with seed im-plants may avoid immediate side effects common after surgical treatment. Urinary bother may oc-cur and persist but risk of inconti-nence is lessened and impotence, if it occurs, may be delayed by years. Doctors in this study evaluated the long-term results of permanent seed implants in men with early-stage, T1-T2 prostate cancer. Nearly 2,700 men were studied at 11 institutions in the United States

term PSA disease-free sur-vival." The importance of dose: D90 is the dose of radiation de-livered to 90% of the prostate, measured in grays. The gray (Gy) is a unit used to measure a quantity called absorbed dose. Absorbed dose is the amount of energy actually taken in by tis-sue exposed to the radioactive energy put out, in the case of brachytherapy, by the seed im-plants. "Among patients where the I-125 dose to 90% of the prostate (D90) was at or higher than 130 Gy," the study authors state, "the 8-year PSA relapse-free survival (PRFS) was 93% com-pared with 76% for those with lower D90 dose levels." Some radiation oncologists are equipped, trained, experienced and competent so as to make sure their patients' prostates are likely to receive the adequate, higher dose. Others are less so. Results for the entire group of men treated in these eleven leading centers show a more shaded picture. Taking 8 year

-More than ninety percent of men who receive appropriate radiation dose levels with per-manent radiation seed implants to treat their early-stage prostate cancer remain recurrence-free eight years after diagnosis, ac-cording to a study released in the February 1 issue of the Inter-national Journal for Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of ASTRO. "The only controllable factor to impact on long-term outcome," the study states, "was the D90 which is a reflection of implant quality." Whether the isotope used to achieve adequate dose was iodine 125 (I-125) or palla-dium 103 (P-103) "was not sig-nificant," the study authors found. Other, non-controllable factors that influenced treatment out-come after permanent brachy-therapy for prostate cancer, the authors report, are tumor stage, Gleason score, pretreatment PSA, treatment year, and post-brachytherapy "dosimetric qual-ity." PSA nadir below or equal to 0.5 ng/mL "was particularly associated with durable long-

If Dose is Right, Radioactive Seed Implant for Early-Stage Prostate Cancer Has High Odds of

Success


over eight years. About two thirds of the men (68%) were treated with I-25 seeds ( median dose, 144 Gy) and the rest with Pd-103 seeds (median dose, 130 Gy) . The radioactive seeds were administered with the aid of ul-trasound-guided techniques to accurately place the seeds in the prostate gland. The implant method applied is known as in-traoperative real-time conformal planning technique with inverse planning optimization . All pa-tients received the seed implants as the sole treatment for prostate cancer with no additional che-motherapy or radiation therapy. "This study is exciting because it shows that brachytherapy alone without additional surgery, radiation or drugs can be effec-tive at curing early-stage pros-tate cancer," said Michael J. Ze-lefsky, M.D., lead author of the study and Chief of Brachyther-apy Services at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. "These results also con-firm other findings that the qual-ity of the seed implant is a criti-cal ingredient for achieving a better outcome." Medical centers participating in the study were Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer in New York, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, New York Prostate In-stitute in Oceanside, N.Y., Ari-zona Oncology Services in Scottsdale, Ariz., Seattle Pros-

tate Institute in Seattle, Chicago Prostate Institute in Chicago, Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Massachusetts Gen-eral Hospital in Boston, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Uni-versity of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Sources & Links Multi-institutional analysis of long-term outcome for stages T1-T2 prostate cancer treated with permanent seed implanta-tion. Zelefsky MJ, Kuban DA, Levy LB, Potters L, Beyer DC, Blasko JC, Moran BJ, Ciezki JP, Zietman AL, Pisansky TM, Elshaikh M, Horwitz EM. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2007 Feb 1;67(2):327-33. Radiation Related Terms Ra-diation Information Network, Idaho State University For more information about prostate cancer treatment op-tions, please visit http://www.rtanswers.org. Source: psa rising

New Prostate Cancer Marker, AZGP1

New Prostate Cancer Marker, AZGP1, May Identify Prostate Cancer Likely To Spread October 4, 2006. Australian prostate can-cer researchers have discovered a new genetic marker for identifying aggressive prostate tumors at the time of surgery. "We have discovered that men who have low levels of a marker called AZGP1 in the prostate at the time of surgery, have a greatly increased risk of developing me-tastatic cancer, " says Sue Henshall, who leads the prostate cancer research group at Sydney's Garvan Institute. "This means two things," Henshall says. "These men could benefit from more aggressive treatment such as radiother-apy or chemotherapy around the time of surgery when they still have potentially curable cancer. And patients with a low risk of developing metastatic disease will have the option of deferring treatments that have a negative impact on quality of life." The next step is to explore the relation-ship between low levels of AZGP1 and the development of metastatic cancer in other groups of men with prostate cancer (i.e. other prostate cancer tissue banks). "It is important to begin testing for this marker now because in the next decade, when the outcomes for some of these new patients is known, we will be able to see just how predictive our marker is in the clinic", said Garvan's Cancer Pro-gram Director Professor Rob Sutherland. AZGP stands for Zinc-alpha2-glycoprotein 1. Zinc-alpha2-glycoprotein is widely distributed in healthy body flu-ids and body tissues. Previously, types of Zinc-alpha2-glycoprotein have been identified as markers of differentiation in


oral, lung and breast tumors. In addition, Zinc-alpha2-glycoprotein (ZAG) is under investigation as a lipid mobilizing factor up-regulated in the rapid weight loss condi-tion in advanced cancer called cancer cachexia. Other markers for prostate cancer: Activated Stat5 protein in prostate cancer can predict outcome: A new tumor marker for aggressive prostate cancer and a new target for therapies. 2005 Prostate Cancer Marker, EPCA, Could Find Disease Five Years Earlier. 2005 (update). Sources and links Zinc-alpha2-glycoprotein Expression as a Predictor of Metastatic Prostate Cancer Following Radical Prostatectomy Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 98, No. 1 9, 1 420- 1 424, October 4, 2006. Susan M. Henshall, et al. ABSTRACT The risk of metastatic progression for pros-tate cancer patients who undergo radical prostatectomy is best estimated presently based on prostate-specific antigen (PSA) doubling time (PSADT). However, addi-tional markers of risk are needed to identify patients who may benefit from aggressive salvage treatment. A decrease in zinc-alpha2-glycoprotein (AZGP1) mRNA levels in malignant pros-tate epithelium was previously shown to predict biochemical recurrence, as defined by rising levels of serum PSA after radical prostatectomy. We assessed the reliability with which AZPG1 expression could predict clinical recurrence and metastatic progression. Us-ing immunohistochemical methods, we analyzed AZPG1 expression in malignant prostate epithelium in prostatectomy speci-mens from 228 prostate cancer patients. Low (i.e., absent or weak) AZGP1 expres-sion was associated with clinical recurrence (defined as confirmed localized recurrence, metastasis, or death from prostate cancer; hazard ratio [HR] = 4.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.2 to 10.7, P<.001) and with bony metastases or death from pros-

tate cancer (HR = 8.0, 95% CI = 2.6 to 24.3, P<.001). Among the 17 patients in the cohort in whom clinical recurrence was as-sociated with short PSADT [PSA doubling time], absent or weak AZGP1 expression was observed in 13 patients. If these preliminary find-ings are validated in independent cohorts, the measurement of AZGP1 levels in radical prostatectomy speci-mens may permit an accurate and timely assessment of risk of metas-tatic progression after radical prostatectomy. Affiliations of authors: Cancer Re-search Program, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, St Vincent's Hos-pital, Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia (SMH, LGH, SAE, AVB, JGK, RLS); Department of Medical Oncol-ogy, Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camper-down, Sydney, Australia (LGH); Department of Tissue Pathology, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead Hospi-tal, Westmead, Australia (JGK); Di-vision of Oncology, Keck School of Medicine, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of South-ern California, Los Angeles, CA (DIQ); Department of Urology (PDS) and Department of Medical Oncol-ogy (JJG), St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia; Di-vision of Surgery, Bankstown Hospi-tal, Bankstown, NSW, Australia (AVB). This work was the result of a $3.7 million Program Grant from the Can-cer Institute NSW to identify risk in prostate cancer. FOR FULL TEXT OF THIS ARTI-CLE GO TO JNIC OR ORDER THROUGH YOUR LIBRARY Sue Henshall's prostate cancer group page at Garvan Institute. Related research articles:

The role of glucocorticoids in the in-duction of zinc-alpha2-glycoprotein expression in adipose tissue in cancer cachexia. Russell ST, et al. Pharma-ceutical Sciences Research Institute, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK. Br J Cancer. 2005 Mar 14;92(5):876-81. Stage-dependent increase of oroso-mucoid and zinc-alpha2-glycoprotein in urinary bladder cancer. Irmak S , et al. Department of Urology, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Ham-burg, Germany. Proteomics. 2005 Nov;5(16):4296-304. Zinc-a2-glycoprotein, a lipid mobiliz-ing factor, is expressed in adipocytes and is up-regulated in mice with cancer cachexia. Chen Bing, et al. Neuroendo-crine and Obesity Biology Unit, De-partment of Medicine, University Clinical Departments, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GA, United Kingdom. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 February 24; 101(8): 2500–2505. Zinc-alpha2-glycoprotein expression as a marker of differentiation in human oral tumors. Brysk et al, Department of Dermatology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77555, USA. Cancer Lett. 1999 Mar 22;137(1):117-20. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recently PSA Endpoints May Speed Prostate Cancer Research April 19, 2006 Low PSA Nadir and Longer Time to Nadir After Radiation Can Predict Freedom From Prostate Cancer Return March 16, 2006 This page made and last edited by J. Strax, October 4, 2006. Source: psa rising


3rd

Tuesday

Prostate Cancer 101, Inc. 8 Alcazar Avenue

Kingston, NY 12401-4302

1st

Tuesday

Distinguished Lecturer Series

SEMINAR For

Newly Diagnosed

4:30 p.m. monthly

Hurley Reformed Church Hall, Hurley, NY

If you need or want to help: Prostate Cancer 101 Seminar First Tuesday of every month Fred Bell 845 338-1161

[email protected] Gene Groelle 845 338-1805

[email protected] Website& Newsletters http://prostatecancer101.org Walter Sutkowski 331-7241

[email protected] Greeters/Church Hall Setup Bob Miggins 382-1305

[email protected] Ralph Calcavecchio 331-2369

2007 Program Chair Arlene Ryan 338-9229

[email protected] Audio-Video Recording Yavuz Birturk 687-9403

[email protected] Copies of past presentations are available @ $15.00 each Chief Cooks & Bottle Washers Arlene Ryan 338-9229

[email protected] Diane Sutkowski 331-7241

[email protected]

Upcoming Events: December 18, 2007, Tuesday will be our annual Sharing and Caring Meeting. In lieu of a speaker any and all men attend-ing can share their stories, ask questions of one another and just talk – friend to friend. Our special invited guest, Dr. Yoram Beer, will be there to answer any questions than you may put to him on the subject of prostate cancer and it’s afteref-fects. Here’s your opportunity to talk to a wonderful doctor and a true friend of PCa101. As an added enticement, refreshments will be served. Who can resist that?

pca newsletter oct 07 - prostate cancer 101prostatecancer101.org/pca_newsletter_oct_07.pdfkalra,...

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