Cancer Fighters Thrive

SUMMER 2012

Cancer Fighters Thrive is a quarterly print and online magazine bringing readers practical, innovative and inspirational information about cancer treatment and survivorship.

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RESEARCH TODAY made for each patient, blood will be drawn about three days before each infu- sion. All in all a full course of Provenge takes four to six weeks. PROVENGE HAS HELPED SOME PATIENTS LIVE LONGER Clinical trials with Provenge showed that the treatment "significantly improved survival" in the study populations.2 One CLINICAL TRIALS WITH PROVENGE SHOWED THAT THE TREATMENT "SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED SURVIVAL" IN THE STUDY POPULATIONS. was a phase III trial with 512 metastatic prostate cancer patients who were symp- tom-free and whose cancer was hormone resistant. Two-thirds of the patients re- ceived a full course of Provenge infusions while one-third received a placebo. The median survival rate of the patients who received Provenge was 4.5 months longer than the survival rate of the patients who received the placebo. "What we've seen," said Dr. Pisick, "is that the additional months Provenge may provide usually occur when patients are asymptomatic. In other words, the extra months occur when the patients' quality of life is higher." In addition, 34 percent of the Provenge patients were alive at 36 months after treatment compared with only 11 per- cent of the patients who received the pla- cebo. The study also showed that patients who received the placebo had a 70 per- cent higher relative risk of dying than the Provenge patients. CAREFUL SCREENING OF CANDIDATES IS REQUIRED If you have been diagnosed with ad- vanced prostate cancer and you wish to be treated with Provenge, you must first meet a number of screening qualifica- 30 cancer fighters thrive | summer 2012 It's also important to remember that Provenge doesn't work for everyone, and it can have side effects: chills, fever, fa- tigue, back pain, nausea, joint ache, and headaches are the most common. In one study 1.5 percent of patients in the Provenge group stopped treatment due to side effects.3 "We can't predict who will have side ef- fects and who won't or how severe they will be," said Dr. Pisick. "How well Provenge works for a particular patient also depends on how quickly the cancer is progressing." Dr. Pisick offers Provenge therapy to pa- tients who qualify medically as part of a comprehensive individualized treatment protocol. Helping patients proactively manage side effects is critical to maintain- ing quality of life throughout treatment. http://www.cancercenter.com/prostate-cancer/immu- notherapy/provenge.cfm References 1. Eubank TD, Roberts RD, Kahn M, et al. Granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor inhibits breast cancer growth and metastasis by invoking an anti-angio- genic program in tumor-educated macrophages. Cancer Research. 2009;69;2133. 2. Provenge Vaccine "Significantly Improves" Survival in Men with Advanced Prostate Cancer. PSA Rising website. Available at: http://www.psarising.com/med/immun/ provenge-0.5.htm. Accessed February 20, 2012. 3. Provenge Benefits. Dendreon Corporation website. Available at: http://www.provenge.com/provenge-bene- fits.aspx. Accessed February 20, 2012. tions: you cannot be taking narcotics for pain; you cannot have brain, lung, or liver involvement from the cancer; you must be able to delay or suspend chemo- therapy treatment for three months prior to and during treatment with Provenge; and you must be asymptomatic except for rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in your blood. cfthrive.com

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