WHAT IS A COMPREHENSIVE ADVANCED PROSTATE CANCER PROGRAM?
Premier Medical Group’s Comprehensive Advanced Prostate Cancer Program was designed for patients with advanced prostate cancer who have disease progression.
Our comprehensive approach combines the latest treatment options available, with a team of dedicated and experienced clinicians that specialize in advanced prostate cancer.
THE COMPREHENSIVE PROSTATE CANCER PROGRAM IS FOR PATIENTS WHO:
- Have been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer
- Do not know all of the available treatment choices
- Want to evaluate all the options
- Need guidance or have questions about available therapies
- Are undecided about which treatment to choose
WHAT IS A TUMOR BOARD?
Premier’s Comprehensive Advanced Prostate Cancer Program holds regularly scheduled meetings – called tumor boards – to discuss each patients case.
A tumor board is a multidisciplinary meeting where patient cases are discussed in significant detail. Multiple specialists such as Urologists, Medical Oncologists, and Radiation Oncologists share expertise and best practices to develop recommended treatment strategies for each patients case.
ABOUT ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION THERAPY TREATMENT (ADT)
Prostate cell growth, including prostate cancer, is driven by androgen hormones. Testosterone is the main male sex hormone (or androgen), which is produced by the testicles and adrenal glands. It is vital in reproductive and sexual function, as well as maintaining a sense of well-being, and maintaining strength and muscle masses. By eliminating this hormone, the growth of prostate cancer is haulted. This is known as hormone therapy, or Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT), and is the standard first line treatment when prostate cancer has spread and become metastatic prostate cancer.
Your doctor will speak with you about the different types of ADT available and what is best for you, depending on your specific needs and situation. Premier Medical Group uses ADT injections for advanced prostate cancer including Lupron™ and Firmagon™. These medications block the messages from the brain to make testosterone.
ADT can cause side effects such as loss of libido, erectile difficulties, hot flushes, fatigue, weight gain, loss of muscle mass and strength, and risk of heart disease. Thinning bones is also a side effect of ADT and must be monitored closely. Monoclonal antibodies, or denosumab, is used to treat bone loss – and are often prescribed to prevent bone damage during ADT treatment. Denosumab is given as an injection in the form of Prolia™ and Xgeva™. Xgeva™ is given every 28 days if the cancer has progressed and is no long receptive to hormone therapy.
ADT will effectively decrease your PSA which, in addition to CT scans and Bone Scans, will determine if your cancer is responding to treatment. Typically ADT will remain effective for some period of time (1-2 years); however; prostate cancer usually progresses as the cancer cells adapt to the change in the testosterone level. The cancer is then referred to as “castrate resistant disease”.
New generation hormonal therapies are constantly being developed, which may still work even with a rising PSA with low testosterone levels. The types of treatment available when this happens depend on what treatments you previously had, your symptoms, and how the cancer is progressing. Some treatments control the cancer while others control the symptoms, and some do both. The best treatment at this point is the one that suits your individual needs and situation. Premier’s Clinical Research Department participates in many clinical research trials for cutting edge therapies and we are proud to be able to offer our patients access to new treatments and medications.
For more information about
Premier’s Comprehensive Advanced Prostate Cancer Program
please call 845.437.5000