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Advanced Prostate Cancer

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Knowing what you know now— would you do adt/surgery/ radiation OR adt/radiation only for stage 4 with limited involved pelvic nodes?

Dachshundlove profile image
20 Replies

RP/ Radiation/ ADT? OR

Radiation/ adt?

Radiation/ adt/ brachy boost (if one does not have size limitations)

I suspect there are new people and friends we haven’t met yet who would be interested in your responses.

My husband, the dachshunds, the big dog, the cat, and our 3 sons all thank you in advance for sharing.

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Dachshundlove profile image
Dachshundlove
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20 Replies
Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen

What about: ADT/brachy boost?

Dachshundlove profile image
Dachshundlove in reply toTall_Allen

I’ve ammended the post to include brachy boost.

I did hear back from Dr Kishan and he did say that even if my husband’s prostate shrunk the max expected from adt it would still be too big for brachy boost😪. And I was not happy to hear it, because I have read the good studies you’ve posted on it Tall_Allen.

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply toDachshundlove

Have you met with Albert Chang at UCLA? (He's the one that actually does the HDR brachy part). You can email Kishan these references (please feel free to use my name):

redjournal.org/article/S036...

brachyjournal.com/article/S...

But if you think this is beating a dead horse, I hope you talk to Dr King about SBRT monotherapy then. See this link:

ro-journal.biomedcentral.co...

Also speak to Mitchell Kamrava at Cedars-Sinai

Dachshundlove profile image
Dachshundlove in reply toTall_Allen

Hi Tall_Allen

We have not met with Dr Chang. I did just email your references to Dr Kishan asking for his opinion and I’ll post once I have it.

Thank you for being a tireless advocate for people living with PC.

This disease needs more advocates. TheQOL impacts are so extraordinary. I had no idea until we were walloped.

in reply toDachshundlove

I’m happy to have evaded surgery ..

cesanon profile image
cesanon in reply toTall_Allen

Tall Allen

Why not:

1. adt right away without delay to soften it up.

2. Then some sbrt. (Making sure to use the most current machines)

3. Followed off with brachytherapy.

Is brachyboost different from normal brachytherapy?

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply tocesanon

Brachy boost therapy means external beam IMRT with a brachytherapy boost to the prostate itself. Why would you do sbrt and brachytherapy?

cesanon profile image
cesanon in reply toTall_Allen

"Why would you do sbrt and brachytherapy?" Tall Allen

More is better?

I had IMRT & brachytherapy at Dattoli. It seems to me that SBRT is better than IMRT generally.

Though my analysis and thought process on these things is admittedly not as well refined or as well informed as yours. (I do learn a lot from your commentary)

So why "IMRT with a brachytherapy" and not "sbrt and brachytherapy"? It would seem that the only difference is that SBRT is more precise, with fewer treatments? I would think that would be better? No?

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply tocesanon

No - the results of SBRT and IMRT are comparable. The main advantage is 5 treatments vs 44 treatments. IMRT may be less toxic for treating areas outside of the prostate (it is unknown). I know Zelefsky at MSK had a trial using both, but I don't see the advantage.

GP24 profile image
GP24

The second alternative is not "ADT/radiation" but "ADT/radiation/36 months ADT"

GP24 profile image
GP24

There is another alternative: "Surgery/24 months ADT". In this study, 87% of the patients in the control arm treated this way were alive after ten years. 13% died overall and only 2.3% died of prostate cancer.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

cesanon profile image
cesanon in reply toGP24

Personally, I just don't like getting cut. And too many opportunities for them to cut where they shouldn't and end up in diapers.

And they never seem to be honest about the incidence of leakage. Seems you have to end up with a a lot of leakage before they even acknowledge it as an adverse event.

Screw the surgery.

GP24 profile image
GP24 in reply tocesanon

If you do not like to get cut you have to get radiation. I will not try to get you to like surgery :)

cesanon profile image
cesanon in reply toGP24

LOL

Magnus1964 profile image
Magnus1964

If the Pca has spread beyond the prostate ADT then radiation would be the way to go.

GP24 profile image
GP24

In the study I cited, 16% of the patients had N1, i.e. local mets. So the ADT was sufficient to control these. I also think it will not make a significant difference whether you have an extended lymph node dissection or pelvic radiation.

FCoffey profile image
FCoffey

Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't do any of those. I'd look for a treatment that made a significant difference in overall mortality after 10 years.

Dachshundlove profile image
Dachshundlove in reply toFCoffey

Any suggestions for unconventional approaches that make an appreciable difference in survival?

Thank you FCoffey.

FCoffey profile image
FCoffey

None with strong evidence. I'm in the same boat, stage 4 with local lymph nodes only, no distant mets.

The PROTECT trial did not include men with locally advanced disease, it was limited to localized disease. But it showed no difference in mortality after 10 years for RP, RT, or active surveillance. The number of men needed to treat to prevent one case of distant metastases after 10 years was 27 for RP, 33 for RT. That means that only 3-4% of men got that benefit.

Perhaps those numbers will change for locally advanced disease, but there isn't a compelling argument for that, and I haven't seen any strong evidence.

I’m no expert . No doctor. I had stage #4 t-4 non op . Horse was out of the barn . I did 8 weeks imrt and double adt . It worked thus far for me . Follow your experts advice . I had only two lymph nodes lit up. Whatever is chosen will be the best for him.. Follow competent professional advice . Don’t hinge treatment from on line sources. Take care

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