Zoom talks and ‘cancer treatable’

TWO more Zoom talks/members’ meetings are planned: On October 19 Rachel Skews, CNS Southmead, will talk about erectile dysfunction and the services available in Bristol. On November 17 Timon Colegrove, a member of Oxford PCa Support Group, will talk about his experience of Proton Beam Therapy. He wrote an article on this in Tackle’s Prostate Matters last November. The start time has been pushed back to 7.30pm. EIGHTEEN members were at our first Zoom ‘coffee morning’ on Sept 3.  The next one will be on October 1. Email invites will be sent out. New patients can contact us via Contact us (above) or our Tackle helpline (0800 035 5302).

NEW: Cancer ‘treatable’

Two professors have made a discovery that could turn cancer into a treatable disease and remove the fear from a cancer diagnosis (Sept ’20). See more here

NEW: Referrals hit by Covid

Prostate cancer referrals halved since lockdown as thousands of men put off seeing their GP, the Daily Mail reported. 27,000 fewer men have been referred to a specialist with suspected cases compared with the same period last year, according to analysis of official NHS data by Prostate Cancer UK. Urgent GP referrals for PCa have plunged to their lowest level in 10 years due to the  impact of Covid-19 (Sept ’20). More here

NEW: Check your risk in 30 seconds!

An online 30-second risk checker has been launched which men are encouraged to take –  see here And a Prostate Cancer Research team are using machine learning to develop a new way to classify PCa and separate the “tigers” from the “pussycats” (Sept ’20). More here And a US study demonstrated the highest accuracy to date in recognising and characterising PCa using artificial intelligence (July ’20). More here Also a new blood test for PCa is producing 99% accuracy – the best yet. More here And a new 15-minute ‘game-changing’ test is announced here

Switch may spread cancer

A switch associated with PCas spreading or forming secondary tumors has been found by Belgian scientists. But more research needed to see if it applies to all PCas. Up to 15% of patients have high-risk prostate cancers, potentially leading to significantly increased mortality  (July ’20). See more here

Abiraterone plea heard; deaths up

NICE appeal: Prostate Cancer UK asked NICE to reverse its decision to restrict abiraterone for advanced prostate cancer because it limits options for older men and NICE later agreed to an appeal (Jul ’20). See more here. Deaths from PCa in the UK exceeded 12,000 in 2019 for the first time and it overtook breast cancer as the most common cancer (June ’20). See more here. But the UK death rate from this cancer is expected to fall by nearly 10 per cent in 2020. See more here  And a new type of immune cell which kills most cancers has been discovered by British scientists. More info here  Screening: An expert explained why finding a suitable method is vital but is difficult. See more here

Hormone treatment and COVID-19

Hormone treatment might offer some protection from COVID-19, it’s reported. See more here And it can make PCa worse, this study finds.  An online survey aiming to shed more light on the experience of PCa patients on this therapy is being conducted via this link And a London college has developed an online intervention to support men with PCa who have ongoing fatigue and is recruiting patients to take part. Information here. And an oil-based oral formulation has been found that not only enables a smaller dose of abiraterone to be effective but also has the potential to dramatically reduce possible side effects (Jun ’20). See more here

Chemo swapped for precision drugs

Advanced PCa patients can take enzalutamide or abirerone at home instead of going into hospital for chemotherapy, NHS England says. It will relieve pressure on the NHS. The drugs are smarter, kinder treatments and could extend the lives of many more men, it’s said (May ’20). See more here: And a new treatment is being tested that could extend the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer, by killing cancer in the prostate despite the disease having spread. The nationwide Atlanta trial, at Imperial College London, was recruiting 918 newly-diagnosed men. Read more here.  And positive results have been reported from a trial that tested the PARP-inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant PCa who have alterations in certain DNA damage repair genes. Roughly 20-30% of these patients harbour these gene mutations in their tumours and thus may benefit from olaparib.

Killer virus attacks cancer

A genetically modified virus that kills cancer cells and destroys their hiding places has been developed by British scientists. The dual-action virus targets both cancer cells and healthy cells which have been tricked into protecting the cancer from the immune system. The Oxford University study is the first time cancer-associated fibroblasts or CAFs within solid tumours have been specifically targeted in this way (Nov ’19). See more here. And a simple new blood test has been found to detect aggressive prostate cancer, according to research by Queen Mary University of London. With the PSA test, the new test could help men avoid unnecessary and invasive biopsies, over-diagnosis and over-treatment. The results need to be validated in other independent research centres before the new test is available, which could take 3-5 more years (Oct ’19). See more here. And UK researchers have developed a urine test to diagnose aggressive PCa and predict whether patients will need treatment up to five years earlier than standard clinical methods (Jun ’19). See more here

Tracking down tumours

A radical ‘seek and destroy’ treatment could extend the lives of thousands of men with advanced PCa. The approach is described by experts as ‘game changing’ (Jun ’19). See more at

MRI scans to replace PSA?

Hundreds of UK men are trying out a non-invasive MRI scan for PCa to see if it should eventually be offered routinely on the NHS. The scan takes images to check for any abnormal growths. It will take a few years to know if MRI will be better than PSA tests and biopsies at spotting cancers (Jun ’19). In this article, Prof Mark Emberton explains why finding a suitable screening method is vital but has proved difficult so far. And Prostate Cancer UK said the news made headlines but journalists “can be overly enthusiastic about new research” and put the record straight here. And an academic article on this suibject is to be found here

A first for advanced patients

GenesisCare announced that the first UK patients have been treated with Theranostics personalised treatment for advanced prostate cancer outside a clinical trial. This is the first time this treatment has been clinically available in the UK (Jun ’19). More info here. And videos of patients who have had the PSMA therapy and want to share their experience are available here. And there are individual patients’ experiences here and here

Drugs to attack resistant cancer

The world’s first drugs designed to stop cancer cells becoming resistant to treatment could be available within the next decade, scientists have said (May ’19). More here

Help with treatment – but beware

AN NHS tool is now available – intended for men with non-metastatic PCa who are deciding between conservative and radical management regimes. It is intended only for men with non-metastatic prostate cancer who are deciding between these regimes. It’s recommend that patients use this tool in consultation with their doctor (Apr ’19). See here. You may have read about this tool in newspapers, but not all the news was 100% accurate – check this NHS Behind The Headlines Page for the facts.. And four new technologies that will tame the immune system are getting us closer to a future where cancer becomes curable. See more here

Cancer can be detected much earlier

The first signs of cancer can appear decades before diagnosis, scientists have found – a discovery that could revolutionise treatment (Feb ’20). See more here. And Public Health England has published a statistical bulletin on survival rates for many types of cancer based on more recent data than previously available. It stressses the importance of early diagnosis. A summary is here with a link to the full report

A Bristol first – and sparing nerves

A Bristol man is the first NHS patient to have a device implanted which can reduce the side effects of radiotherapy by 70% (see more here). And a trial to spare the nerves around the prostate during surgery is being held at Southmead Hospital. if successful, it will reduce the risk of erectile disfunction and will be available throughout England. More news items on the Newsletter page.