Guest guest Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 FYI (sounds like the stuff Sammy has been talking about) Henry --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top Stories of 2011: Dr. on Prostate Cancer OncologySTAT Editorial Team. 2011 Nov 17, Intervew by L Zoeller As 2011 comes to an end, OncologySTAT will again feature the Top Stories of the Year in oncology by our OncologySTAT Advisory Board Members. Here, Dr. discusses his choice for the year’s most important development in prostate cancer research. OncologySTAT: In your view, which development in 2011 in prostate cancer could have the most significant impact in oncology? Dr. : Radium-223, a bone-seeking, alpha-emitting radioisotope, has been shown to improve overall survival in men with bone metastases from advanced prostate cancer. It also significantly delays time to skeletal-related events and has an excellent safety profile, with mild acute gastrointestinal toxicity and very rare myelotoxicity. OncologySTAT: What specific changes in oncology have you observed or do you foresee as a result of this development? Dr. : I anticipate that, once it has been approved, radium-223 will become a standard of care for men with bone metastases from advanced prostate cancer. In theory, radium-223 should be effective in the treatment of bone metastases in general, so I expect to see further trials in other malignancies. One can imagine a time when radium-223 could be a standard of care for bone metastases from almost any cancer type. OncologySTAT: Would you put this development into historical perspective for the practicing oncologist? Dr. : In my view, this is a landmark finding. Radium-223 is the first radioisotope shown to improve overall survival in a common solid cancer. Radium-223 is the first alpha-emitter to have a proven role in cancer treatment. Bone-seeking radioisotopes have been used in oncology for approximately 60 years; but, until now they have all been beta-emitters, and they have had limited success. Radium-223 is the first alpha-emitter to be tested, and it is dramatically more effective and extremely well tolerated. OncologySTAT: Would you sum up why you chose this development as the top story of the year? Dr. : New treatments that improve survival in a common cancer do not come along that often. It is even more unusual for such a treatment to have an excellent safety profile. Not only does radium-223 tick both those boxes, it also has an entirely novel mechanism of action and could have wider application to bone metastases in general. Related Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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