By Samuel Boova, Director Alliance Development, High Burden HIV Global Markets, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Despite significant progress in its prevention and treatment, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a serious public health threat across the globe. The United Nations programme UNAIDS has led the global effort to address the HIV/AIDS crisis and has set out […]

The MedTech company Hologic, with a primary focus on women’s health, has acquired SOMATEX Medical Technologies, a leader in biopsy site markers and localization technologies, for approximately $64 million. The company was previously owned by E-Med Solutions, Berlin, a group of investors led by German private equity company Westlake Partners.

Proton therapy, a type of external beam radiation therapy, is a safe and effective treatment for prostate cancer, according to two new studies.
In the first study, researchers at the University of Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., prospectively studied 211 men with low-, intermediate-, and high-risk prostate cancer. The men were treated with proton therapy, a specialised type of external beam radiation therapy that uses protons instead of X-rays. After a two year follow-up, the research team led by Nancy Mendenhall, MD, of the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute, reported that the treatment was effective and that the gastrointestinal and genitourinary side effects were generally minimal.
‘This study is important because it will help set normal tissue guidelines in future trials,’ Dr. Mendenhall, said.
In the second study, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif., and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group in Philadelphia performed a case-matched analysis comparing high-dose external beam radiation therapy using a combination of photons (X-rays) and protons with brachytherapy (radioactive seed implants).
Over three years, 196 patients received the external beam treatments. Their data was compared to 203 men of similar stages who received brachytherapy over the same time period. Researchers then compared the biochemical failure rates (a statistical measure of whether the cancer relapses) and determined that men who received the proton/photon therapy had the same rate of recurrence as the men who received brachytherapy.
‘For men with prostate cancer, brachytherapy and external beam radiation therapy using photons and protons are both highly effective treatments with similar relapse rates,’ John J. Coen, MD, a radiation oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said. ‘Based on this data, it is our belief that men with prostate cancer can reasonably choose either treatment for localised prostate cancer based on their own concerns about quality of life without fearing they are compromising their chance for a cure.’ EurekAlert

To improve the quality of life in gay men and minorities treated for prostate cancer, a greater awareness of ethnic and sexual preference-related factors is needed to help men choose a more-suitable treatment plan, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital conclude in a literature review.
Some of the factors to consider, for example, include increased risk of urinary and bowel function decline in African Americans regardless of treatment received and differing sexual expectations and social support in gay men.
‘Different communities of men view the effects of prostate cancer treatments very differently,’ said co-author Edouard J. Trabulsi, M.D., of the Department of Urology and Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, noting the poorer quality of life among certain sub-populations.
‘It’s in the patient’s best interest for caregivers to acknowledge perceptions and expectations during the treatment decision process,’ he said. ‘They should take specific demographics, socio-economic status, and sexual preference into consideration, and tailor an approach based on a patient’s specific concerns about the implications of various treatments.’
Today, many of these confounding factors are poorly documented and poorly addressed by medical practitioners when discussing treatment, be it radical prostatectomy, radiation or androgen deprivation therapy. There is also scant research about prostate-cancer-related quality of life effects in men who have sex with men (MSM).
In this literature review, the authors use several studies to illustrate differences in treatment outcomes, sexual function and coping mechanisms among subpopulations, including African Americans, Latin Americans, Asians and MSM.
According to the analysis, African Americans, who have higher prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates than whites, are less likely to initiate and complete treatment and less likely to trust a physician. They are also at an increased risk of urinary, bowel and general physical function decline, regardless of treatment.
Treatment preferences and sexual outcomes also differ. According to the review, in a study of 665 military men who had the same access to care, white men were three times more likely to choose a radical prostatectomy as their treatment options for low and intermediate risk prostate cancer, whereas African Americans tended to prefer non-surgical treatments, such as external beam radiation therapy.
A multi-centre longitudinal cohort study set up to monitor urinary and sexual function in over 1,200 men who underwent radical prostatectomy for clinically localised prostate cancer showed that African Americans were more likely to retain sexual function.
As with African Americans, Latin American men who underwent radiation therapy or a radical prostatectomy demonstrated greater levels of severe sleep dysfunction than whites. They were also are less likely to enter hospice.
MSM with prostate cancer have additional social and sexual challenges often overlooked. MSM are typically diagnosed later in life and may be reluctant to divulge their sexual preference to their caregiver. This may preclude them from discussing their quality of life expectations and sexual practices.
One reason for poorer quality of life may also be attributed to a lack of social support group, the researchers discovered in their analysis. As MSM men are less likely to have long-term partners, they might not have the same level of support at home and might look for support in other places.
However, the number of support groups specifically tailored for MSM with prostate cancer is limited.
‘In the United States, MSM-specific support groups are available in just six cities. MSM living outside these cities might rely more on Internet-based support groups and are at increased risk of becoming socially isolated,’ the authors write.
MSM are also less likely to invite their partners into the examiner room when discussing treatment options and related adverse effects. Study findings also suggest that treatment with androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer could have a greater negative impact on quality of life for gay men compared to heterosexual men.
‘There are potential barriers for accurately assessing and measuring quality of life in MSM. Here, we focus attention on these poorly studied aspects to help overcome such concerns,’ said Dr. Trabulsi, who is also the Director of the Multidisciplinary Genitourinary Cancer Center at Jefferson’s Kimmel Cancer Center. ‘It’s everything from discussion about sexual preference to toxicity-related effects to their ability to maintain a relationship with a partner.’ EurekAlert

Normal everyday life for parents requires organisation. Parents of children who require ventilators, oxygen, IVs and other tools to live, those day-to-day tasks can be time-consuming, difficult and stressful on the family. But researchers from Case Western Reserve University found that mothers who successfully integrate the care of the technology-dependent child into family life have families that function better.
‘It