Poly-ICLC (Cohort B) for Prostate Cancer

Treatment plans for [prostate cancer](https://www.withpower.com/clinical-trials/prostate-cancer) should focus on high risk disease due to the risks posed by radical prostatectomy (radical prostatectomy is the treatment of choice for those with intermediate risk prostate cancer), but with conservative local treatment options given the risks and benefits involved and the limited life expectancy. The benefits of androgen ablation and radiotherapy remain undefined.

The role of infectious agents triggering cancers of the lung and prostate is still being debated. The risk of prostate cancer has been linked to occupational exposure to asbestos, which is known to cause lung cancer. Although the relation between the prostate and other chronic infectious diseases is unclear, current scientific evidence does not support a role for bacterial or viral infections as causative factors.

Prostate cancer cannot be cured. Although the tumour may be killed, this is not always the case. Although some patients have no symptoms, others may have symptoms which are unimportant. Symptoms can be reduced or eliminated by a variety of means and patients should always be treated to the best of their ability. The likelihood of death varies significantly amongst patients, and so is the treatment they receive. These data need to be carefully examined in clinical trials and other studies, to produce realistic and practical treatments. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Prostate cancer is the major cancer of the prostate gland, and the third leading cause of cancer related death in men. Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease that is characterised by its cellular origin, heterogeneity, and heterogeneity in the disease phenotype. It remains a challenge for the identification of biomarker and biological targets in prostate cancer.

The combined incidence of all forms of invasive cancer of the prostate, lung, colo-pancreas, and breast, and bladder for the year 1999 in the U.S. is 476,000 and that of prostate cancer (combined forms) is 124,000 which is 4.2% of all cancers. This equals the combined incidence of all forms of lung cancer, colon-pancreas cancer, and breast cancer a year in the United States.

Most men over 75 years of age can see the signs of progressive enlargement of the prostate, and may want to have their prostate monitored.

The primary cause of prostate cancer is thought to be environmental factors in some men and genetic factors in others. The association of prostate cancer with chronic inflammation, chronic exposure to xylenes such as wood preservatives (such as aromatic solvents and styrene monomer), and the association of prostate cancer with a family history of the disease suggests a common etiology that involves some combination of environmental cause, genetic cause, and individual risk factors. Because prostate cancer is associated with a number of occupational exposures, studies have evaluated the relationship between occupational exposures and prostate cancer. However, a causal relationship between prostate cancer and most occupational exposures has not been established. Occupational exposure to some agents, including benzene, have been shown to worsen urinary tract inflammation.

Although mortality is a serious problem for men diagnosed with prostate cancer, they may have a good prognosis when treated in hospitals with a high number of prostate cancer patients. It seems that the rate of mortality is higher in patients who receive treatment using the “wait and see” approach.

Cohort B of the MRC2-trial was found to be more effective than placebo for lowering prostate-specific antigen level. The combination of 4 mg tamsulosin plus placebo or 4 mg tamsulosin plus 40 mg poly-Iclc was also more effective than placebo and 4 mg tamsulosin only in lowering prostate-specific antigen. It is suggested that these treatments should be further evaluated in a placebo-controlled study.

The benefit of adding androgen deprivation therapy to brachytherapy in men with localized prostate cancer appears to be modest; but, there were no specific adverse prognostic characteristics associated with combined radiation therapy.

There is an increasing amount of clinical and laboratory data supporting the role of omega-3 PUFAs in suppressing prostate cancer tumors. Additionally, there is an increasing amount of clinical work demonstrating the ability of omega-3 PUFA's to help reverse prostate cancer cell growth and the development of a more aggressive form of the disease.