Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Abstract Accepted for Prestigious Meeting

Results of ongoing research into the efficacy of treating certain prostate cancers with combination therapy consisting of Palladium-103 brachytherapy (seed implant) and supplemental beam radiation, has been accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the prestigious American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

The meeting will be held October 16-20, 2005 in Denver.

Michael Dattoli, MD and Richard Sorace, MD have documented long-term (13 year actuarial) results of the combination therapy used in treating 282 patients with high risk disease. These were patients with high likelihood that their cancers had escaped the prostate and already invaded tissue beyond the gland. Factors that identified the men as high risk include PSA of 10 or higher and/or Gleason scores of 7 or higher.
Patients were initially treated with the combination therapy in 1992. These patients are monitored annually for any evidence of disease recurrence. This study reports that the overall actuarial freedom from biochemical progression (disease recurrence) after 13 years is 81%.

The significance of this finding is huge. Remembering that these are all high risk patients and that their initial therapies were state of the art 13 years ago, the same grade patients (and those of lower risk) who are treated today with current combination therapy technology can expect even greater results.

In addition, the study reports that its failure rate drops to nearly zero after five years of follow-up. If the combination therapy holds the cancer at bay for the first five years, it is highly likely that the disease will not recur in later years.

For more information about the study, the combination therapy protocol or the Dattoli Cancer Center, in Sarasota at 941/957-1221.