Informed Prostate Cancer Patient Support

Utility of the PROSTest, a Novel Blood‐Based Molecular Assay, Versus PSA for Prostate Cancer Stratification and Detection of Disease PROSTest Shows 97% Accuracy in Detection—But Questions Remain About Long-Term Surveillance Applications Men navigating prostate cancer screening and treatment decisions may soon have access to a more accurate blood test that could reduce unnecessary biopsies while catching cancer more reliably than PSA. However, while the technology shows impressive initial results, critical questions remain about its use for active surveillance and monitoring after treatment. A prospective study of 105 men in Poland, published recently in The Prostate , found that a novel blood test called PROSTest dramatically outperformed standard PSA testing in detecting prostate cancer. The results were striking: 97% sensitivity, 96% specificity, and an area under the curve (AUROC) of 0.99 compared to PSA's 0.61. "While PSA is useful for identifying men at risk, its low s...

NICE Endorses Oral Alternative to Chemo in Prostate Cancer Good news for patients unable to tolerate chemotherapy Men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer who cannot receive or tolerate chemotherapy now have a new treatment option available through the NHS. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended darolutamide (brand name Nubeqa) in combination with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for approximately 6,000 patients in England and Wales. What is Darolutamide and How Does It Work? Darolutamide is an oral medication that works by blocking the hormones that fuel prostate cancer growth. Specifically, it prevents prostate cancer cells from accessing the testosterone they need to multiply and spread throughout the body. The treatment is taken as two tablets twice daily alongside standard ADT. This oral format offers a significant advantage for patients who cannot tolerate intravenous chemotherapy like docetaxel or who are unable to receiv...

Stereotactic body radiotherapy to the prostate with focal boost: analysis of the primary endpoint in the DELINEATE trial Cohort E - ScienceDirect But Higher Urinary Side Effects Than Standard Treatment UK trial demonstrates safety of targeting visible tumors with extra radiation, though questions remain about necessity By IPCSG Medical News Team Men with intermediate and high-risk prostate cancer can safely receive an extra dose of radiation to their visible tumors during ultra-short SBRT treatment, according to new results from the UK's DELINEATE trial. However, the study found that this "focal boost" approach carries a moderate risk of urinary problems that patients and doctors should carefully consider. The findings, published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, also raise an important question: With today's excellent cure rates using standard SBRT alone, is the extra radiation even necessary? What the Study Did Researchers a...

The Great Cell and Gene Therapy Reckoning: From Revolutionary Promise to Industry Crossroads As personalized CRISPR therapies arrive and CAR-T cells target solid tumors, the field confronts manufacturing challenges and soaring costs The gene and cell therapy revolution that scientists have promised for decades is finally materializing—but not quite in the way many had envisioned. In 2025, the field stands at a pivotal crossroads, celebrating historic medical breakthroughs while grappling with formidable economic and manufacturing obstacles that threaten to limit patient access to these potentially life-saving treatments. A Landmark Year for Personalized Medicine In February 2025, an infant known as KJ became the world's first patient to receive a fully personalized CRISPR gene editing therapy at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Born with severe carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency, a rare metabolic disease, KJ received a customized base editing therapy del...

Why brittle bones aren’t just a woman’s problem – Orange County Register Critical Information for Men on Hormone Therapy If you're being treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer, here's something your oncologist should be discussing with you: your bone health. A growing body of evidence shows that men—especially those on ADT—face serious but often overlooked risks of osteoporosis and life-threatening fractures. The Hidden Danger for Prostate Cancer Patients While osteoporosis has long been considered a "women's disease," the reality is starkly different for men with prostate cancer. About 1 in 5 men over age 50 will suffer an osteoporotic fracture in their remaining years, and men who do break a hip face worse outcomes than women, with 25% to 30% dying within a year. For men on ADT, the risk is even higher. Prostate cancer drugs are among the medications that significantly damage bone density. ADT works by lowering testosterone leve...

STEAP1-targeted strategies in advanced prostate cancer: a review on therapeutic and diagnostic implications | Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases Multiple clinical trials now recruiting patients as research validates novel protein as effective treatment target Men with advanced prostate cancer have a new reason for optimism as multiple clinical trials targeting a protein called STEAP1 are now actively recruiting patients, offering access to cutting-edge therapies that are showing encouraging early results. STEAP1 (Six transmembrane epithelial antigen of prostate 1) is highly expressed in over 85% of prostate tumors while showing minimal presence in normal tissues, making it an ideal target for precision cancer treatment. Unlike some other prostate cancer targets, STEAP1 expression remains uniform even as the disease progresses, suggesting it could benefit the majority of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Bispecific Antibody Shows Strong Clin...

Telix Doses First Patient in SOLACE Trial for Metastatic Bone Pain - Telix Pharmaceuticals New Bone Pain Treatment Enters Testing as Alternative to Proven Radium-223 Therapy TLX090 offers potential convenience advantages, but must prove it can match survival benefits of established treatment Telix Pharmaceuticals has initiated the SOLACE clinical trial, dosing the first patient with TLX090, an investigational radiopharmaceutical for metastatic bone pain. The Phase 1 study arrives as patients and physicians increasingly recognize both the promise and limitations of radium-223 (Xofigo®), the only bone-targeting therapy proven to extend survival in men with advanced prostate cancer. The Challenge: When Cancer Spreads to Bone Up to 90% of men with metastatic prostate cancer develop bone metastases, with approximately 400,000 new cases diagnosed annually across all cancer types. The resulting pain profoundly diminishes quality of life and mental health, yet current treatment options rem...

Multivariate GWAS reveals shared genetic etiology and pleiotropic loci across carcinomas | medRxiv New Study Reveals Complex Patterns with Critical Implications for Prostate Cancer Patients Massive genetic analysis of 429,000 cancer cases finds prostate cancer stands genetically apart from other major cancers—except for rare hereditary mutations like BRCA that link it to breast and ovarian cancer A groundbreaking international study has uncovered a genetic paradox with profound implications for prostate cancer patients: while analyzing common genetic variants across nine major cancer types, researchers found prostate cancer is genetically distinct from other epithelial cancers—so distinct it couldn't be incorporated into models that successfully explained genetic relationships among breast, lung, colorectal, and other cancers. Yet this finding coexists with a well-established clinical reality: families where breast and prostate cancer cluster together, linked by rare hereditary ...