More than 2 million men in the United States have prostate cancer.

This year, doctors will diagnose 217,000 new cases.

Early detection and a host of new treatments can stop it in its tracks, but for the 100,000 patients whose prostate cancer has spread, there are not many options.

Now, the first FDA-approved immunotherapy treatment for prostate cancer is offering late-stage patients new hope.

57-year-old Robert Obin says he may be a cancer patient, but he does not want to look like one. He loves clothes and compliments.

For seven years, he has tried everything to fight an aggressive prostate cancer that spread to his bones. He says radiation was the worst.

In describing the radiation, Obin says, "Vomiting…I can't eat. I can't sleep. I said to the guy, 'I don't think I'm going to continue because I can't take it anymore.'"

At Mount Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center, doctors offered him a new treatment using his own blood called provenge.

The blood goes to a lab, where specific immune T-cells are collected and exposed to proteins similar to his prostate cancer. Then, they are put back into the patient to fight the cancer.

Dr. Joseph Pizzolato, an oncologist at Mount Sinai, says, "When those cells go back into the body, your own immune system sees these proteins and then creates cells to attack that protein."

In trials, this active cellular immunotherapy increased patients’ lifespan by an average of four months.

"The disease takes on a new character in that it slows down significantly, offering survival advantages similar, and sometimes better than, conventional chemotherapies."

Robert is a believer.

He says, "It's not going to cure me, but that will help me to give me, I don't know, more days?"

A hopeful, late-stage cancer patient who is not giving up anytime soon.

Provenge immunotherapy costs an average of $93,000. Some insurance companies cover it.

Based on the positive results in late-stage prostate cancer patients, provenge researchers are looking at using the immunotherapy for other types of cancers like skin and lung cancer.

RESEARCH SUMMARY:

BACKGROUND: The Human Genome Project (HGP) was a 13-year project that was coordinated and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. The project was completed in 2003. Though finished, experts are continuing to analyze the data. The goals of the project were to identify all of the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA, determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA, and store this information in databases. (SOURCE: www.ornl.gov)

DIAGNOSING & PREDICTING DISEASE: Genetics plays an important role in the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of diseases. The HGP has enabled researchers to pinpoint errors in genes that cause or can contribute to disease. All diseases have a genetic component, some of which are inherited, while others result from the body's response to things like viruses or toxins. Researchers hope to use information from the HGP to develop new ways to treat, cure, or prevent thousands of diseases. While experts are busy identifying genes and searching for effective treatments, biotechnology companies are racing ahead by designing diagnostic tests to detect faulty genes in people suspected of having or are at risk of developing specific diseases. (SOURCE: www.ornl.gov)

GENE THERAPY: The potential for using genes to treat disease (or gene therapy) has captured the imaginations of the public and the biomedical community. The developing field holds great potential for treating or even curing genetic and acquired diseases. Experts are able to use normal genes to replace or supplement a defective gene or to bolster immunity to disease.
A large number of gene tests have become available commercially. Some have greatly improved and even saved lives, but scientists are still unsure of how to interpret many of them. In addition, patients taking the tests face significant risks of jeopardizing their insurance status. Also, since genetic information is shared, these risks can extend to their family members as well.

GENES & DRUGS: Explorations into the function of each human gene can help shed light on how faulty genes play a role in disease causation. With this in mind, commercial efforts are shifting toward developing a new generation of therapeutics based on genes. Drug design is being revolutionized as researchers create new classes of medicines based on a reasoned approach to the use of information on gene sequence and protein structure function rather than the traditional trial-and-error approach. Drugs targeted to specific areas in the body often have fewer side effects than many of today's medicines. (SOURCE: www.ornl.gov)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Maureen Mack, Director of Media Relations
Medical College of Wisconsin
(414) 955-4744
Mmack@mcw.edu