The death rate in patients with localized prostate cancer remained stable and low after more than 20 years of follow-up, a large retrospective study reported in the May 3 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The study is based on a risk analysis of 767 men in the Connecticut Tumor Registry (CTR) diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1971 and 1984 and treated by either observation or delayed androgen withdrawal. "Men with low-grade prostate cancers have a minimal risk of dying from prostate cancer during 20 years of follow-up," note the researchers, who were led by Dr. Peter C. Albertsen of the University of Connecticut Health Center.

The study updates and confirms the authors' initial report published in 1998 on the same patient cohort. "Because these men have been followed continuously by the CTR, we had an opportunity to extend our follow-up to 20 years to determine whether prostate cancer mortality rates declined, remained constant, or increased after 15 years," the researchers explain.  Read more  



Cancer Centers: Providing Leadership and New Opportunities

Yesterday marked the second annual retreat of National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center directors. The retreat provides a forum for NCI leaders to brief the directors on important NCI initiatives, and for an open and honest dialogue on the national cancer program.

Just like the inaugural retreat last spring, this year's retreat was gratifying and educational. It allowed NCI leaders to better understand the complexity of the challenges facing Cancer Centers, as well as the breadth of the opportunities before us.

As the recent special issue of the Cancer Bulletin described, NCI-designated Cancer Centers have evolved into the core of the national cancer program. The majority of individual R01 and P01 awards, for example, go to researchers at NCI-designated Cancer Centers, as do the majority of funds for training grants and Specialized Programs of Research Excellence.  Read more  

The NCI Cancer Bulletin is produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). NCI, which was established in 1937, leads the national effort to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer. Through basic, clinical, and population-based biomedical research and training, NCI conducts and supports research that will lead to a future in which we can identify the environmental and genetic causes of cancer, prevent cancer before it starts, identify cancers that do develop at the earliest stage, eliminate cancers through innovative treatment interventions, and biologically control those cancers that we cannot eliminate so they become manageable, chronic diseases. For more information on cancer, call 1-800-4-CANCER or visit http://www.cancer.gov. NCI Cancer Bulletin staff can be reached at ncicancerbulletin@mail.nih.gov.