The Prostate Puzzle

OncLive Chairman,

Mike Hennessy

During the past five years, the progress in therapeutic options for men with prostate cancer has been truly remarkable. Since 2010, the FDA has approved five new drugs, including the first therapeutic anticancer vaccine (sipuleucel-T), novel agents that target the androgen receptor (abiraterone and enzalutamide), a new form of chemotherapy (cabazitaxel), and a bone-targeting radiopharmaceutical (radium-223).

Yet prostate cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed type of cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.

On OncLive, we offer a spectrum of articles and perspectives on managing patients with this stubborn malignancy.

Our coverage of the 8th Annual Interdisciplinary Prostate Cancer Congress® and Other Genitourinary Malignancies tackles such important questions as patient selection criteria for active surveillance and the optimal timing of immunotherapy. In the OncPathways section, we present the latest developments in ongoing research efforts to overcome resistance to androgen-targeting therapies, which remains problematic even with the new generation of agents.

Finally, our profile of Patrick C. Walsh, MD, a 2014 Giants of Cancer Care award winner, provides perspective on just how much the treatment of men with prostate cancer has advanced. Walsh’s pursuit of a better way to conduct the radical prostatectomy has improved the lives of countless patients.

The picture of prostate cancer care that emerges through the coverage presented throughout this issue is clearly a mosaic of many unanswered questions brightly illuminated with many achievements.

As we seek to piece together this complex puzzle for our readers, we remain appreciative of the efforts that researchers and practicing oncologists have made to improve the lives of their patients.

Thank you for reading.