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Immunotherapy Approach
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Advanced Prostate Cancer
About Clinical Trials
This trial (D9902B) is enrolling men with androgen independent prostate cancer, or AIPC. Other commonly used names for AIPC are "hormone resistant" prostate cancer and "hormone refractory" prostate cancer.
In broad terms, AIPC means that the cancer is progressing even though the man has had hormone therapy intended to slow progression. (Hormone therapy and AIPC) For men with AIPC, there currently are no products FDA-approved for delaying disease progression.*
* As of November 2003
Hormone Therapy and AIPCMost prostate tumors need male hormones—particularly testosterone—in order to grow. Hormone therapy aims to slow the cancer's spreading by depriving prostate cancer cells of testosterone. 1
Who gets hormone therapy?
Not all men with prostate cancer receive hormone therapy. If the cancer is caught and removed at an early stage, hormone therapy may not be needed. Some other men may not receive hormone therapy because of health conditions. But if there is evidence the cancer has already spread (metastasized) beyond the prostate, or if there is the probability that it will spread, hormone therapy will likely be recommended.
Main types of hormone therapy 2
- Surgery. In a procedure called orchiectomy, the testicles are removed; this significantly reduces the amount of testosterone a man produces.
- Medications. There are many different hormone therapy medicines. They typically work in one of two ways: either by reducing the production of testosterone or by inhibiting testosterone's uptake and/or activity.
Unfortunately, in men whose cancer had already begun to spread before starting hormone therapy, the treatment works only for an average of 2 to 3 years. After a while, cancer cells that don't need testosterone begin to flourish, and the cancer begins to grow again.
How AIPC is diagnosed
Experts have varying definitions of AIPC. In general, though, a man is assumed to have AIPC if he has any of these signs of progression while on hormone therapy:
- Rising PSA in consecutive tests while testosterone levels remain low. 3
- Increase in the number of tumors beyond the prostate
- Significant increase in the size of existing tumors
References
1. Strum SB and Pogliano D. A primer on prostate cancer: the empowered patient's guide.
Hollywood, FL: The Life Extension Foundation, 2002, p. 129.
2. National Cancer Institute. Know your options: understanding treatment choices for prostate cancer.
NIH publication #00-4659. Revised Feb 2002.
3. HormoneRefractoryPCa.org. Available at
www.hormonerefractorypca.org/definitionofhrpc.html
An advanced stage of prostate cancer. In AIPC, a man's cancer is progressing even though he has had hormone therapy intended to slow the cancer.
A type of immune cell that when working correctly attacks disease-causing agents in the body, such as cancer cells.
A type of immune cell that recognizes abnormal cells in the body, such as cancer cells.