About the Study: This Research Letter describes the incidence and quality of active surveillance use for prostate cancer in the national Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. In the VA health system, active surveillance or watchful waiting for favorable-risk prostate cancer increased from 27% to 93% for low-risk disease and from 14% to 61% for favorable intermediate-risk disease. Overall, the study suggests that many veterans with favorable-risk prostate cancer are avoiding unnecessary treatment, but some disparities in care still need attention.

About the Study: In this randomized clinical trial of 698 patients with localized intermediate-risk prostate cancer, stereotactic body radiotherapy was not superior to moderately hypofractionated IMRT for disease-free survival at 3 years. SBRT was associated with better bowel-related quality of life, but cancer control was not improved.

About the Study: In this retrospective cohort study of 16,924 men with prostate cancer starting concurrent androgen deprivation therapy and an androgen receptor pathway inhibitor, metabolic syndrome and related abnormalities were frequently documented during the first year of treatment. Hypertension was the most common metabolic outcome.

About the Study: This retrospective study uses data from the National Cancer Database to examine patterns and temporal trends in use of focal therapy for prostate cancer in US cancer centers. In a cohort of about 1.18 million patients with nonmetastatic prostate cancer, about half of focal therapy procedures occurred in low-, high-, or very-high-risk disease, settings in which routine use is not supported by current guidelines. Overall use remained uncommon.

Three decades after UC San Francisco pioneered “active surveillance” for patients with low-risk prostate cancer, a new study has found that the vast majority of veterans with the diagnosis pursued this option instead of treatment. 

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named 14 new Damon Runyon Fellows, brilliant postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators.

An updated clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) provides evidence-based recommendations on the use of radiation therapy to treat adult patients with pancreatic cancer. The guideline updates ASTRO’s 2019 recommendations to reflect recent clinical trials that provide growing evidence for radiation therapy in the resectable, locally advanced and metastatic settings. It was published in Practical Radiation Oncology, ASTRO’s clinical practice journal

Although there are many cancer treatments available today that effectively eliminate abnormal cells, these therapies may also damage healthy cells, leading to unwanted side effects. Now, researchers publishing in ACS’ Journal of Medicinal Chemistry have developed a new therapeutic that is kept “locked” unless it finds itself within a tumor cell. In mice, the treatment significantly reduced tumor size without accumulating in the liver, which suggests adverse exposures could be reduced and treatment safety improved.