New Trials for Hormone Refractory PC

dw11 · New User Joined: 20 May 2008 Posts: 3

Hello, My dad is 67 and has an aggressive prostate cancer (gleason of 9) that became hormone refractory recently. It has metastasized into his ribs, leg, neck and spine that we know of. His PSA jumped from <2 in january to 50 in early april to 100 mid-may. At this stage my understanding is that the standard treatment is chemo with docetaxel, but i know there are probably a couple hundred trials out there, some of which are taken in conjunction with the chemo. I'm wondering if anybody out there has had or knows of somebody with recent experience in new trials and whether it was effective or not. I realize that not every patient responds to treatments the same, but at this point, i'm looking for any info i can get.

Despite the bone metastasis, he remains in overall good health - which makes it hard to fathom that there is a terminal cancer growing rapidly inside him. it has caused a hairline fracture in a vertabrae which has given him some minor pain and he just finished radiation on that area to help relieve it. but other than that he feels physically fine. mentally is probably a different story.

Other than new trials, if my dad's case sounds similar to yourself or somebody you know, any insights into what we might expect would be helpful. i realize the longterm outlook is grim, but i'm hoping that he'll be able to function at a decent level during treatments to be able to accomplish some things in life that he has always wanted to do. thanks.

Replicant · Moderator Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 243

Hi. I'm sorry to hear about your father.

There are a bunch of guys (and a few spouses) on the Usenet group alt.support.cancer.prostate. There is an easy to use Google Groups interface to the group at: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support.cancer.prostate?lnk=gschg

They might have some ideas for you. Usenet is unmoderated, just so you're prepared. It can be a little wild and woolly, but there are several guys there with first hand experience with advanced cancer, chemo, and trials.

Also, have you looked at ClinicalTrials.gov? If you're in the U.S., that site might help you find an appropriate trial near you. One drug in development that might be of interest is MDV3100. It's an experimental drug by Medivation that has shown promise in hormone refractory cancer. See the news story at : http://tinyurl.com/5rzdwp . It looks like the Phase I study of MDV3100 is still enrolling new participants: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00510718?term=mdv3100&rank=1

And there are other trials--just do a keyword search on that website for prostate cancer.

Good luck. Your father is lucky to have you on his side.
_________________
Replicant

Dx Feb 2006, PSA 9 @age 43
RRP Apr 2006 - Gleason 3+4, T3a, N0M0, pos margins
PSA 5/06 <0.1, 8/06 0.2, 12/06 0.6, 1/07 0.7.
Salvage radiation (IMRT) total dose 70.2 Gy, Jan-Mar 2007@ age 44
PSA 6/07 0.1, 9/07 <0.1, 12/07 <0.1, 4/08 <0.1, 11/08 <0.1
http://pcabefore50.blogspot.com

dw11 · New User Joined: 20 May 2008 Posts: 3

thanks for the reply, i'll check those out.

kappersack · Regular Joined: 11 Jan 2008 Posts: 13

I am sorry to hear about your father. My father had a similar diagnosis. His prostate cancer became hormone ref. and his only option was Chemo. (Taxotere or Docetaxel). The first 6 rounds (every 3 weeks) promised good results and his tumors (some in the liver) actually shrunk. But then they got used to the Chemo and grew out of control despite the Chemo. The next 4 Chemo basically took all of his quality of life away. Unfortunately he passed away last week. He fought his cancer for almost 16 years (the past 2 after it became hormone ref). i will keep you and your father in my prayers and tell him never to give up hope.

Replicant · Moderator Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 243

Have you tried ClinicalTrials.gov? If you're in the U.S., it's worth a look.

You can search by keyword--like "hormone refractory". Combine terms with "and". So if you wanted to search for trials in the Boston area, as an example, you would type in "hormone refractory and Boston"
_________________
Replicant

Dx Feb 2006, PSA 9 @age 43
RRP Apr 2006 - Gleason 3+4, T3a, N0M0, pos margins
PSA 5/06 <0.1, 8/06 0.2, 12/06 0.6, 1/07 0.7.
Salvage radiation (IMRT) total dose 70.2 Gy, Jan-Mar 2007@ age 44
PSA 6/07 0.1, 9/07 <0.1, 12/07 <0.1, 4/08 <0.1, 11/08 <0.1
http://pcabefore50.blogspot.com

dw11 · New User Joined: 20 May 2008 Posts: 3

kappersack i'm so sorry to hear about your father's death. it sounds like he put up a good fight. i wish you and your family the best and thanks for your thoughts as well.

my father actually started chemo 2 days ago and will be doing that in conjunction with a phase 2 trial of sutent which has had some success in extending the life in patients with other types of cancers. but this chemo/sutent treatment is supposed to be done for a full year. i'm just really worried if his body can endure that type of punishment. we'll see. just got to stay positive for him.

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