Here are the testimonials of two prostate cancer patients who took part in the clinical trials of neoadjuvant Zytiga.
Patient #1
My PSA went up from 2.4 in 2004 to 3.9 in August, 2009 - that triggered a visit to specialist.
Biopsy done in November, 2009 - Gleason score of 8.
MRI in December, 2009 confirmed the cancer had spread outside the prostate.
Within one month my psa was down to 0.64.
By May 12, 2010 my psa was down to 0.02.
My surgery was on August 5, 2010 .
On August 18, 2010 my doctor told me the results of the pathology report - 0.0% residual cancer.
From pathology report post-surgery - left pelvic lymph node negative; right pelvic lymph node negative; prostate - no residual prostatic adenocarcinoma
I lost 42 pounds
My cholesterol improved dramatically
My CRP level is now normal
I had surgery August 5th to remove the tumors
On August 18th my doctor informed me that there was 0.0% (none, nada) residual cancer
My cholesterol improved dramatically
My CRP level is now normal
I had surgery August 5th to remove the tumors
On August 18th my doctor informed me that there was 0.0% (none, nada) residual cancer
Bob
Patient #2
I was in the same trial and had similar results. A little history:
I was 59 when diagnosed. I had my annual check in July 2010. The DRE revealed a lump and my PSA was 19. The biopsy revealed Gleason grade 7 (4+3 and cancer in 7 of the 12 cores). An MRI also showed a suspicious lymph node in, as the doctor said, a strange place well away from the normal prostate drain field.
My treatment has entirely taken place at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (Univ. of Washington Medical Center & Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)under the care of Dr William Ellis (surgeon) and Dr James P. Dean (medical oncologist). I took part in a clinical trial of pre-adjuvant Abiraterone & Lupron plus Prednisone. This lasted 6 months. I then had an open radical prostatectomy on March 1, 2011 . Surgery was required by the study, but it could be either robotic or open. I had open because of the suspicious lymph node. The surgeon wanted to do a very thorough surgical lymph node resection. The pathology report showed clear margins, no seminal vesicle invasion, no extracapsular invasion and no lymph node involvement. The suspicious lymph node showed that the clinical trial had an effect--there was evidence of inflammation which is present when a cancer has been destroyed. No active cancer was found. Because of the use of Abiraterone and Lupron, the pathologist cannot determine a post surgery Gleason score. The treatment effect makes that impossible. I have since had one PSA test with an undetectable result (>.03 at this lab. My next test is June 8th.
The side effects of both Abiraterone and Lupron are similar and were manageable for me. I had (and still have) hot flashes. Weight control was very difficult, although I only gained about 7 pounds. Libido drops to nothing as does potency. Fatigue was the primary problem, but it was manageable and I was able to work full time and continue with life as normal during the study. I had blood tests every two weeks.
Now that the treatment phase of this is over, I'm working with our daughter who is a registered dietician to make sure that I eat a very healthy diet. The weight is starting to come off and that should get easier as the testosterone continues to come back into my system. A good support system is vital. My wife is a breast cancer survivor so we knew the drill when this happened, but it is still a rough road.
I knew that I had an aggressive cancer so I wanted the most aggressive treatment. I didn't hesitate to take part in the trial as I wanted to bring every weapon possible in this fight.
John
This is good news. Did the patients undergo other treatments like chemo, radiation, or maybe prostate cancer alternative treatment? Or just Neoadjuvant Zytiga?
ReplyDeleteYes these are really good results and elimination of prostate cancer has never been achieved before with any other agent. The patients had not received any other treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
ReplyDeleteIn the neoadjuvant setting Zytiga is used as first line therapy before surgery is conducted and before radiotherapy is used. The patients also received Lupron which is an LHRH agonist used to lower testosterone but is not really needed since Zytiga reduces testosterone to a much greater degree anyway. The trial was to compare Lupron alone against Lupron with Zytiga in the neoadjuvant setting prior to surgery. The surgery was carried out after 6 months Zytiga treatment and no residual cancer was detected in 10% of patients, and only minimal signs of cancer remaining in 30% of patients.