Active Surveillence and Avodart

Beau2
Beau2 Member Posts: 261
in Prostate Cancer #1
Guys on Active Surveillance, or contemplating AS, may want to go to the following link and read the article. Seems Avodart (dutasteride) can significantly slow disease progression.

"Our trial is the first study to show the benefits of use of a 5α-reductase inhibitor to reduce the need for aggressive treatment in men undergoing active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer...delaying their time to pathological progression and initiation of primary therapy."

Had I known this three years ago I may have considered AS a bit more seriously … (probably not, I was really a chicken and just wanted the cancer out of me).

I have a friend on Avodart for treatment of benign prostate tissue left behind after a RP and it seems to be working very well. He had been scheduled for SRT when a second opinion came up with the benign tissue idea and they put him on a trial treatment with Avodart. That was over two years ago and he’s been doing well (PSA went and stayed down) ever since.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240752.php

Comments

  • VascodaGama
    VascodaGama Member Posts: 3,701 Member
    #2
    5-ARI; marvel drugs
    Beau

    Thanks for the link. I believe in this drugs’ ability in “cleaning” the PSA from the portions produced by benign tissues (BPH), therefore providing a more “pure” PSA related to cancer. Nevertheless this drug is part of a controversy with regards to its obscure effect on the PSA. Such controversies were reinforced by the disapproval of FDA to use the drug in cancer treatment matters. They have given "instructions" on the contrary. You can read about the controversy "incriminating" the 5-ARI drugs with a more aggressive form of PCa;
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18425978
    http://www.healthboards.com/boards/cancer-prostate/854993-finasteride-avodart-risk-high-grade-cancer-fdas-unsound-awful-decision.html

    The “REDEEM randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial” (your article refers) was sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline which is the owner of the drug. This also obscures the relevance of the study.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22277570

    In any case, some other trials with regards to the same principle were done before showing identical results. Here is a link;
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20357281

    The best to you.
    VGama
  • Beau2
    Beau2 Member Posts: 261
    #3
    VascodaGama said:

    5-ARI; marvel drugs
    Beau

    Thanks for the link. I believe in this drugs’ ability in “cleaning” the PSA from the portions produced by benign tissues (BPH), therefore providing a more “pure” PSA related to cancer. Nevertheless this drug is part of a controversy with regards to its obscure effect on the PSA. Such controversies were reinforced by the disapproval of FDA to use the drug in cancer treatment matters. They have given "instructions" on the contrary. You can read about the controversy "incriminating" the 5-ARI drugs with a more aggressive form of PCa;
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18425978
    http://www.healthboards.com/boards/cancer-prostate/854993-finasteride-avodart-risk-high-grade-cancer-fdas-unsound-awful-decision.html

    The “REDEEM randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial” (your article refers) was sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline which is the owner of the drug. This also obscures the relevance of the study.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22277570

    In any case, some other trials with regards to the same principle were done before showing identical results. Here is a link;
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20357281

    The best to you.
    VGama

    Thanks
    Hey VDG,

    Thanks for the clarification.

    I thought the Avodart was really doing some good for guys on AS, what the Heck.

    It's like believing success rates published by manufacturers of robots or radiation devices. They "may" be right, but then again ....
  • bdhilton
    bdhilton Member Posts: 866 Member
    #4
    Interesting
    I hope I never have to follow up but this sounds like it might be a better alternative in some instances...then again with the sponsors it could be questionable....I always like to read about non-radiation follow up options with surgery…Thank you
  • hopeful and optimistic
    hopeful and optimistic Member Posts: 2,346 Member
    #5
    bdhilton said:

    Interesting
    I hope I never have to follow up but this sounds like it might be a better alternative in some instances...then again with the sponsors it could be questionable....I always like to read about non-radiation follow up options with surgery…Thank you

    Thanks for the information about Avodart
    I have surveyed several docs and get different opinions from each one; some want to prescribe to everyone; some only if a patient really wants it, and other will not prescibe.

    I wish that there was more information about avodart.
  • bdhilton
    bdhilton Member Posts: 866 Member
    #6
    hopeful and optimistic said:

    Thanks for the information about Avodart
    I have surveyed several docs and get different opinions from each one; some want to prescribe to everyone; some only if a patient really wants it, and other will not prescibe.

    I wish that there was more information about avodart.

    Hopeful, Yes that one of the
    Hopeful, Yes that one of the issues with the medical community with this PCa Beast….To many opinions and lots of “pushing” based on skill set or investments into multiple million dollar surgical and/or radiation robots…. All the best

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