NEWSLETTER
NOTTINGHAM
PROSTATE
CANCER SUPPORT
GROUP
n
p
Welcome to the Newsletter of the Nottingham Prostate
c Cancer
Support Group (edited by Mark Petrovic)
s
g
No. 61 August 2015
The August 2015 edition includes the following topics:-
EVENTS FOR 2015/16
DR SUNDAR’S PRESENTATION JUNE 2015
ANNUAL DINNER
NPCSG NEWS
PCUK NEWS
KURZWEIL AI NEWS
CANCER RESEARCH UK INFO
email npcsg2004@gmail.com
Dates for 2015/16
13th August – Dr Bazo – Erectile Dysfunction (confirmed)
10th September – Annual Dinner at Le Bistro Pierre
8th October – Tom Walton – Training Video of Prostatectomy –
(confirmed)
10th December – Xmas Fuddle – An informal buffet and drink at our
annual Xmas get together.
11th February – Dr Barlow – Talk as a GP on his experiences dealing
with prostate cancer patients and his own diagnosis
14th April – Professor Robert Rees, Director of the John van Geest
Research Centre – Latest developments in research into
immunotherapy treatments for prostate cancer
Everybody welcome – especially partners and carers. Any ideas for future
topics, other suggestions, or feedback are most welcome.
Prostate Cancer Presentation at Maggie’s by Dr Santhanam Sundar
Setting & Hypothesis
Setting
Hormone therapy the mainstay of treatment since the 1940’s
Addition of radiotherapy to NOMO diseases improves outcomes
Hypothesis
Early use of active therapies may give a larger absolute benefit in survival
Stampede Trial Results
Rationale for Study Agents



Docetaxel
Prolongs survival in metastatic castrate refractory disease
Well tolerated in the elderly population
Docetaxel and/or Zoledronic acid for hormone naive prostate cancer: First survival results
from Stampede
Stampede is a British trial – considered the best in the world
SOC (Standard Of Care) + Docetaxel found to increase survival rates
SOC + Docetaxel found to increase survival rates by an average of 4.6 months compared to
SOC alone
Docetaxel should be: Considered for routine practice in suitable men with newly diagnosed metastatic
disease
 Considered for selected men with high-risk non-metastatic disease in view of
substantial prolongation of failure free survival
The Stampede Trial also found there was no improvement gained from Zoledronic acid
Good news: Cabazitaxel available again via the Cancer Drug Fund (ref Nottingham Evening
Post 3rd June 2015) with average increase in life expectancy of 2.4 months
STATINS & PROSTATE CANCER
Statin use at the time of hormone therapy initiation was associated with a significant increase
in prostate cancer control
CIRCULATING TUMOUR CELLS
 Nearly 90% of men with progressive chemo-naïve hormone refractory prostate cancer
have detectable CTC’s in their blood
 As expected, higher CTC counts were associated with adverse prognostic variables
ANNUAL DINNER: Our annual dinner due to be held on 10th September has
now been cancelled.
Steering Committee Vacancy: We are still looking for one volunteer who
would like to serve on our steering committee. If you are interested please
ask one of the steering committee members at the next meeting (Thursday
13th August) or send an email to www.nottinghamprostate.org
John Barras pubs kick off the new season with Men United
Hundreds of John Barras pubs, part of the Spirit Pub Company, are making the
new football season count for Men United with a range of activities to help us
raise money while you have a great time watching sport in their pubs.
To read the full article please press Ctrl+Click on the following link:http://prostatecanceruk.org/about-us/news-and-views/2015/7/john-barras-pubskick-off-the-new-seson-with-men-united
Black men are unaware that they’re twice as likely to die from prostate
cancer as white men. This needs to change.
Guest blogger Dr Alison Cooper, Senior Research Analyst at Prostate Cancer
UK, gives us the lowdown on the results of her research, published today in the
journal BMC Medicine, what they mean for men, and what we plan to do about
it.
To read the full article please press Ctrl+Click on the following link:http://prostatecanceruk.org/about-us/news-and-views/2015/7/black-men-areunaware-that-they-re-twice-as-likely-to-die-from-prostate-cancer-as-white-men
How one man became a local hero – with a little help from his friend
Pat is one of our long-time Men United volunteers. Despite being told his
advanced prostate cancer is terminal, he still does everything he can to host
prostate cancer information stands, raise money at Football League match days
and talk to as many people as he can about prostate cancer – so they don’t have
to go through what he has. Recently he won the Peak FM Local Hero
Fundraiser of the Year Award. He told us about the surprise of being told, how
the night went and how his best friend played a bigger role than he realised.
To read the full article please press Ctrl+Click on the following link:http://prostatecanceruk.org/about-us/news-and-views/2015/7/how-one-manbecame-a-local-hero
Owen Sharp steps down as Chief Executive of Prostate Cancer UK
He will take up a new role at the Movember Foundation in October as Global
Prostate and Testicular Cancer Lead, and will remain in position until then.
Sharp said “I am incredibly sad to be leaving Prostate Cancer UK. It has been
an absolute privilege to be Chief Executive here and I am so proud of all that we
have achieved.
To read the full article please press Ctrl+Click on the following link:http://prostatecanceruk.org/about-us/news-and-views/2015/7/owen-sharp-stepsdown-as-chief-executive-of-prostate-cancer-uk
The Manual: Getting active – your questions answered
We’ve all heard that exercise is good for us, but what do we actually know
about the links between physical activity and prostate cancer? And how can we
fit exercise in to our own daily lives? Specialist Nurse Meg Burgess has some
answers, as well as a few ideas to get you moving.
To read the full article please press Ctrl+Click on the following link:http://prostatecanceruk.org/about-us/news-and-views/2015/7/the-manualgetting-active-your-questions-answered
Prostate cancer in your genes: what can genetic testing tell us?
New advances in genetic medicine have been hitting the headlines a lot
recently. And debates around the pros and cons of genetic testing, and what that
could mean for preventing disease and creating personalised treatments have
spiked this year. Sophie Lutter explores the ins and outs of genetic testing for
prostate cancer, and what it might mean for men and their families, in terms of
improving treatment and identifying those at risk.
To read the full article please press Ctrl+Click on the following link:http://prostatecanceruk.org/about-us/news-and-views/2015/7/prostate-cancer-inyour-genes-what-can-genetic-testing-tell-us
Kurzweil A.I.: Scientists successfully edit human immune-system T cells
New CRISPR research has implications for autoimmune diseases, AIDS, and
cancer
In a project led by investigators at UC San Francisco , scientists have devised a
new strategy to precisely modify human immune-system T cells, using the
popular genome-editing system known as CRISPR/Cas9. T cells play important
roles in a wide range of diseases, from diabetes to AIDS to cancer, so this
achievement provides a path toward CRISPR/Cas9-based therapies for many
serious health problems, the scientists say. It also provides a versatile new tool
for research on T cell function.
To read the full article please press Ctrl+Click on the following link:http://www.kurzweilai.net/scientists-successfully-edit-human-immune-system-tcells
Contact details for the Nottingham Prostate Cancer Support Group:Specialist Nurse Support - Lead Contact - Eleanor Robinson 0115 9691169
ext 54082
Contact us by email at npcsg2004@gmail.com
Or visit our website at www.nottinghamprostate.org
Research into different treatments for prostate cancer can be found by
visiting Cancer Research UK by pressing Ctrl+Click on the following web
address
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/type/prostatecancer/treatment/research/research-into-treatments-for-prostate-cancer#new
covering all the topics below:-
Radiotherapy research for prostate cancer
Hormone therapy
Chemotherapy
Bisphosphonates
Cryotherapy (cryosurgery)
High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)
Photodynamic therapy (PDT)
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA)
Nanoknife
Biological therapies
PARP-1 inhibitors
Gene therapy
Vaccine therapy
Drugs for hormone resistant cancer
Preventing drug resistance
Blood tests for cancer spread
PC-SPES and PC-HOPE (herbal treatments)
Reducing side effects of treatment
Diet and exercise
Symptoms that mean cancer has come back
About research trials