/--------- E-mail Sponsored by Fox Searchlight ------------\
THE DREAMERS - IN SELECT CITIES
Set against the turbulent political backdrop of 1968 France
when the voice of youth was reverberating around Europe, THE
DREAMERS is a story of self-discovery as three students test
each other to see just how far they will go. THE DREAMERS
is now playing in select theaters.
for more info:
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/thedreamers/index_nyt.html
\----------------------------------------------------------/
Advice for Treating Prostate Cancer Revival
March 17, 2004
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
An estimated 30,000 men who have had surgery for prostate
cancer will relapse this year, and half of them will die.
But many of those patients can be saved, a new study says,
if doctors treat them with radiation therapy at the
earliest signs of recurrence.
In cases where prostate cancer appears to be returning
after surgery, doctors usually forgo local radiation
because they assume the disease has spread. Hormones, which
are helpful but cannot cure the disease, are typically
given instead.
But the latest study, published today in the Journal of the
American Medical Association, looked at 501 men who were
given radiation therapy in lieu of hormones and found that
about half lived at least four years without another
relapse.
In roughly two-thirds of patients who do not receive the
treatment, the cancer will spread within 10 years, said Dr.
Kevin M. Slawin, an author of the study and director of the
Baylor Prostate Center at the Baylor College of Medicine in
Houston.
Doctors can look for prostate cancer - the second-leading
cause of cancer deaths among men - by conducting blood
tests for rising levels of a protein called
prostate-specific antigen, or P.S.A. When levels start
climbing after surgery, it usually signals that the cancer
is returning. But many doctors either wait too long to give
the therapy or rule it out altogether, Dr. Slawin said.
"When it's rising, that's when radiation treatment should
be given," he said. "In a lot of these patients where it
was thought the disease would advance and little could be
done, we're finding that these men can actually be cured."
About 64 percent of subjects in the study whose levels of
the protein doubled within 10 months after surgery, and
whose initial prostate cancer was deemed moderately
aggressive, remained cancer-free for four years.
People who undergo radiation therapy can suffer unpleasant
side effects, including impotence, bladder dysfunction and
frequent bowel movements.
Dr. Timothy Wilson, director of the prostate cancer program
at the City of Hope medical center in Los Angeles, said
that the study's lack of a control group for comparison was
a flaw, but that he hoped the findings would lead to more
widespread use of radiation therapy.
"It adds to a small but growing body of evidence that this
is the right strategy," Dr. Wilson said. "Many of us
already know it's a good idea. Now, hopefully, it will work
its way into the medical literature and become the standard
of care."
Fewer than 20 percent of patients whose prostate cancer
returns undergo radiation therapy. Dr. Mitchell A. Anscher,
a professor of radiation oncology at Duke University
medical center, suggested that some patients would be
better off getting radiation treatment immediately after
surgery, when it is more effective and lower doses are
administered.
"People need to be aware that this is a problem we have a
potential solution for," Dr. Anscher said. "Only 13 percent
are offered radiation; the rest are offered nothing or
treated with hormones, which aren't curative."
Dr. Slawin warned that pre-emptively treating patients
after prostate surgery carried the risk of overtreating men
who might never have suffered a relapse.
"We already have a blood test that's very good at detecting
recurrences," he added.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/17/health/17PROS.html?ex=1080569482&ei=1&en=a68d6086e07191e3
---------------------------------
Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine
reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like!
Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy
now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here:
http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&ExternalMediaCode=W24AF
HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters
or other creative advertising opportunities with The
New York Times on the Web, please contact
[EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo
For general information about NYTimes.com, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
Free up your inbox with MSN Hotmail Extra Storage. Multiple plans available. -------------------------------------------- This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
