PROSTATE INSIGHTS QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER | Fall 2017, VOLUME 20, ISSUE 3
Peter J. Scholz // PCRI Creative Director
Hello Researcher,
Hello researcher, we are excited to bring you information about the latest advancements in prostate cancer care. This issue is packed with helpful information explaining landmark studies in the prostate cancer field. For further research on these topics, I highly recommend attending our 2017 Prostate Cancer Conference. The conference is unlike any other educational experience, and it encompasses more than just information about what treatments are available. It fosters interaction with leading experts who are happy to help, and patients and caregivers who are just as passionate about learning as you are. The net effect is a collaborative learning environment that leads to empowerment and confidence to partner with your doctor and make the best choices. For a list of speakers and registration information see page 4 of this issue. Our first featured article, written by Laurence Klotz, MD, concerns updates on active surveillance, and examines new thinking about broadening the scope of eligibility to include men with favorable types of intermediate-risk disease. This is revolutionary, since previously it was considered that only men with low-risk disease were eligible. This article delves into the biological rationale for this change, and examines the future of active surveillance. Radiation treatment is a common alternative to prostate surgery, and there are a diverse array of methods by which it is administered. External beam radiation doses are usually divided up into small fractions delivered over an extended period of time. In this issue, Donald Fuller, MD and Robert Meier, MD report on studies designed to explore the use of SBRT to deliver a much larger dose in a much shorter period of time. In another study, which was conducted at UCLA, Narek Shaverdian, MD, examined the instance of treatment regret after the selection from various types of radiation. An interesting and possibly unexpected result of this study is that a patient’s source of information for treatment is a key indicator of whether the patient will later regret the choice he made. As always, it is our hope that you learn something that you can apply to your own situation and that Prostate Insights will encourage you to continue your own research. We at the PCRI want to help you take your prostate cancer knowledge to the next level. Visit us at www.pcri.org!