Showing posts with label prostate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label prostate. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Monday, September 26, 2011
Early success in cancer drug trial gives patients 'promising' future
Medics halted tests of the life-extending drug because it would have been “unethical” not to offer the treatment to all 922 cancer sufferers taking part in the trial.
Patients who were given the drug found that it eased pain and caused only minor side effects.
The new drug accurately targets tumours using alpha radiation, which doctors conducting the study said is the most effective form of radiation to eliminate cancer because it limits damage to surrounding tissue.
Dr Chris Parker, lead researcher on the project at the Royal Marsden Hospital, said: “It’s more damaging. It takes one, two, three hits to kill a cancer cell compared with thousands of hits for beta particles.”
The drug, Radium-223 Chloride – known as Alpharadin TM – will also do less damage to surrounding tissue because it accurately targets calls, the doctors said.
Speaking at an international gathering of cancer experts, Dr Parker, a consultant clinical oncologist, said: “They have such a tiny range, a few millionths of a metre. So we can be sure that the damage is being done where it should be.”
Patients taking the drug has a 30% lower rate of death compared to patients taking a placebo pill.
“It would have been unethical not to offer the active treatment to those taking placebo,” Dr. Parker said.
Radium-223 has “a completely different safety profile” to chemotherapy, he added.
The trial’s results were presented this week at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress in Stockholm.
The researchers, who have pointed out the urgent need for an effective treatment for prostate cancer, will now submit their findings for approval by regulators.
Prof Gillies McKenna, Cancer Research UK’s radiotherapy expert said: “This appears to be an important study using a highly targeted form of radiation to treat prostate cancer that has spread to the bones.
“This research looks very promising and could be an important addition to approaches available to treat secondary tumours – and should be investigated further.”
Patients who were given the drug found that it eased pain and caused only minor side effects.
The new drug accurately targets tumours using alpha radiation, which doctors conducting the study said is the most effective form of radiation to eliminate cancer because it limits damage to surrounding tissue.
Dr Chris Parker, lead researcher on the project at the Royal Marsden Hospital, said: “It’s more damaging. It takes one, two, three hits to kill a cancer cell compared with thousands of hits for beta particles.”
The drug, Radium-223 Chloride – known as Alpharadin TM – will also do less damage to surrounding tissue because it accurately targets calls, the doctors said.
Speaking at an international gathering of cancer experts, Dr Parker, a consultant clinical oncologist, said: “They have such a tiny range, a few millionths of a metre. So we can be sure that the damage is being done where it should be.”
Patients taking the drug has a 30% lower rate of death compared to patients taking a placebo pill.
“It would have been unethical not to offer the active treatment to those taking placebo,” Dr. Parker said.
Radium-223 has “a completely different safety profile” to chemotherapy, he added.
The trial’s results were presented this week at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress in Stockholm.
The researchers, who have pointed out the urgent need for an effective treatment for prostate cancer, will now submit their findings for approval by regulators.
Prof Gillies McKenna, Cancer Research UK’s radiotherapy expert said: “This appears to be an important study using a highly targeted form of radiation to treat prostate cancer that has spread to the bones.
“This research looks very promising and could be an important addition to approaches available to treat secondary tumours – and should be investigated further.”
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Dennis Hopper Dying
I hope this isn't some stunt to avoid his hearing. If it's for real, he will be missed. He's a crazy f#@ker, or often plays one.
Dennis Hopper Dying, Attorney Says
Divorce Lawyer Says Actor, 73, Too Weak from Prostate Cancer to Undergo Chemotherapy, Court Proceedings
(AP) Dennis Hopper is terminally ill and unable to undergo chemotherapy as he battles prostate cancer, his attorney wrote in a court filing.
Attorney Joseph Mannis wrote about the "Easy Rider" star's grave condition in a declaration filed Wednesday asserting the actor cannot be questioned by his wife's attorneys in a deposition.
The prognosis contradicts previous filings in the divorce proceedings that were bullish about Hopper's recovery chances.
Hopper, 73, and his wife, Victoria, have been locked in a bitter feud since the actor, director and artist filed to end the couple's nearly 14-year marriage in January.
He weighs barely 100 pounds and was described by his physician Dr. David Agus in the court filing as extremely weak and unable to carry on long conversations.
Agus states that undergoing a deposition "could actually threaten his ability to survive his current health crisis."
The doctor added, however, that he approved an appearance Friday by Hopper to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame because it is likely to be a positive experience.
A phone message seeking comment from Victoria Hopper's attorney, Sorrell Trope, was not immediately returned. Mannis did not return a call seeking further comment.
Hopper filed a declaration last month saying he was undergoing promising chemotherapy treatments and remained hopeful "that this treatment will be successful so that I may soon resume the full enjoyment of my life and work."
Dennis and Victoria Hopper have agreed to stay 10 feet away from each other while the divorce is ongoing. She has stated in court filings that Hopper filed for divorce to cut her out of her inheritance, a claim the actor has denied.
The case is scheduled for a court hearing on April 5.
Dennis Hopper Dying, Attorney Says
Divorce Lawyer Says Actor, 73, Too Weak from Prostate Cancer to Undergo Chemotherapy, Court Proceedings
(AP) Dennis Hopper is terminally ill and unable to undergo chemotherapy as he battles prostate cancer, his attorney wrote in a court filing.
Attorney Joseph Mannis wrote about the "Easy Rider" star's grave condition in a declaration filed Wednesday asserting the actor cannot be questioned by his wife's attorneys in a deposition.
The prognosis contradicts previous filings in the divorce proceedings that were bullish about Hopper's recovery chances.
Hopper, 73, and his wife, Victoria, have been locked in a bitter feud since the actor, director and artist filed to end the couple's nearly 14-year marriage in January.
He weighs barely 100 pounds and was described by his physician Dr. David Agus in the court filing as extremely weak and unable to carry on long conversations.
Agus states that undergoing a deposition "could actually threaten his ability to survive his current health crisis."
The doctor added, however, that he approved an appearance Friday by Hopper to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame because it is likely to be a positive experience.
A phone message seeking comment from Victoria Hopper's attorney, Sorrell Trope, was not immediately returned. Mannis did not return a call seeking further comment.
Hopper filed a declaration last month saying he was undergoing promising chemotherapy treatments and remained hopeful "that this treatment will be successful so that I may soon resume the full enjoyment of my life and work."
Dennis and Victoria Hopper have agreed to stay 10 feet away from each other while the divorce is ongoing. She has stated in court filings that Hopper filed for divorce to cut her out of her inheritance, a claim the actor has denied.
The case is scheduled for a court hearing on April 5.
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