New immunotherapy studies show expectations for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, especially in black men. Sponsor: Dendreon Pharmaceuticals

A new study gives more hope to African-American men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.

The findings are based on a subanalysis of the registry developed about 10 years ago to track men with advanced prostate cancer treated with immunotherapy (also known as metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)). I will. Rather than clinical trials where strict standards are often used, registries help physicians across the country see real evidence that may be translated throughout the community. Researchers tracked men who received immunotherapy for advanced prostate cancer in urology and oncology clinics and compared the effects of treatment on black and white men.

The results show that African Americans with the highest incidence of prostate cancer in the world’s racial or ethnic groups and who are receiving immunotherapy live longer, says the Tulane Cancer Center. Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and research. Immunotherapy has shown benefits in white men with prostate cancer, but the effect is more pronounced in African-American men, Salter said.

Comparing immunotherapeutic PSA-enabled African-Americans with white men, African-American men survived more than 4.5 years compared to more than 2.7 years for white men.

“African-American immune systems may be stronger,” Sarter said. “If so, it’s actually a tumor vaccine, because some of it stimulates the immune response. Tumors in African-American men can be particularly susceptible to this treatment. We Learned more about tumor types and found that some characteristics of African-American tumors could make them more vulnerable to this type of treatment. “

Sartall said the researchers are following up on the findings, especially in African-American tumor composition.

“We know that there are some genetic changes that are different from whites,” Sarter said. “Tumors are not exactly the same. It’s an ongoing area of ​​research. Another area of ​​research is the use of additional immunotherapies. Taking advantage of these findings, other immunotherapies have similar results. I want to see if it brings. “

The results represent a major bright spot, especially for African-American men. In the United States, black men have a 74% higher risk of prostate cancer than non-Hispanic white men. The incidence of prostate cancer is about 60% higher in black men than in white men for unknown reasons. In addition, Blacks’ prostate cancer mortality rate is more than double that of all other racial and ethnic groups in the United States.

Sarter said the reason for these statistics remains unclear. Sartor said one of the main risk factors is age. Men under the age of 40 are rarely diagnosed with prostate cancer. The risk increases over time. Family history also plays a role, Sarter said. Men are at increased risk if their relatives have prostate cancer. Also, if female relatives, including mothers and sisters, are diagnosed with breast cancer, men are at increased risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

In 2020, an estimated 191,930 cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States, and 33,330 men will die of the disease. One in nine men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.

In addition to immunotherapy, Sartor said there are treatment options such as hormone therapy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy.

“Usually, more men use hormone therapy first,” Salter said. “For men who develop symptoms relatively early, immunotherapy gave good data. There is also data on evolving IV radiation. Because it is being used by another man, one therapy is another. It is difficult to make an exact comparison with therapy. “

The most common side effects of immunotherapy treatment used in this analysis include chills, fatigue, fever, lower back pain, nausea, arthralgia, and headache. Other side effects are possible, and more serious reactions include acute fluid reactions, thromboembolic events, and angiopathy.

“There is debate about the risks and benefits of screening for prostate cancer, but we do it ourselves because it reduces the risk of being diagnosed with advanced disease,” Salter said. “There are treatment options available for early diagnosis of cancer. If you have advanced disease without early diagnosis of cancer, it may have already spread to bone or other organs. There is sex. That is why I really support early diagnosis. “

For more information on prostate cancer screening, treatment options, and overall cancer research, visit the following websites: https://medicine.tulane.edu/centers-institutes/tulane-cancer-center.. For additional information, https://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostate-cancer.html, www.pcf.org And https://zerocancer.org..