Prostate

Prostate cancer is the most frequent cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer deaths for males in the United States. One in every six men is diagnosed with the disease and, as the male population ages, the incidence of prostate cancer is expected to increase. If found early, prostate cancer is typically treated with prostatectomy or radiation therapy. However, the challenge in treating this disease is the ability to distinguish slow-growing prostate cancer from more aggressive types. This distinction affects treatment decisions.

MD Anderson’s prostate cancer moon shot will apply our current knowledge and experience with advanced and treatment-resistant prostate cancer, as well as new knowledge gained from Moon Shot Program discoveries, to craft personalized profiles of patients’ tumors. These profiles will individualize treatment for prostate cancer patients, as well as validate new combination therapies and new drugs.

Our Approach

Previous

  • Goals

    CounselingMD Anderson will make demonstrable, quantifiable advances in the treatment of prostate cancer during the first decade of the Moon Shot Program. The development of ways to determine who needs treatment and who has less threatening disease, and as well as development of predictive biomarkers to monitor the progression from androgen-sensitive to castrate-resistant prostate cancers, will guide the progress of this program.

    Our goals are to:

    • Use epidemiologic risk-prediction models to determine which patients can be spared intervention and which require aggressive treatment
    • Reduce mortality by 30% in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients at risk for recurrence and patients with advanced prostate cancer
    • Increase the progression-free survival of patients with treatment-resistant disease
    • Personalize treatment for patients with advanced and therapy-resistant prostate cancer
    • Develop biomarkers to monitor progression to castrate-resistant disease and to stratify patients for optimal therapies (including immunotherapy)

    These efforts will fundamentally change the clinical course of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients.

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  • Research

    Currently, two main screening tests are used to detect prostate cancer. Prostate-specific antigen blood tests and digital rectal exams can help find cancer at its earliest stages, when chances for successful treatment are highest. However, these tests are controversial because screening may detect slow-growing prostate tumors, leading to unnecessary or overly aggressive treatment.

    Researchers will develop ways to detect the disease using proteomics, epidemiology, diagnostic imaging, pathology and genomics.

    Our research goals include:

    • Minimizing unnecessary treatment for indolent prostate cancer and improving treatment for aggressive prostate cancer
    • Identifying the causes of racial disparity between African and European-American prostate cancer patients. African-Americans are 1.5 times more likely than European-Americans to develop prostate cancer. Among those diagnosed, African-Americans are 2.3 times more likely than European-Americans to die of the disease.
    • Identifying molecular targets for prevention and therapy

  • Infrastructure

    Novel biomarkers, new patient-based genetic and signaling profiles, and results from co-clinical studies will allow for the stratification of patients with advanced prostate cancer, and the personalization of therapies. This approach will result in the validation of new combination therapies and the use of new therapeutic agents developed in the Moon Shot Program.

  • Goals

    CounselingMD Anderson will make demonstrable, quantifiable advances in the treatment of prostate cancer during the first decade of the Moon Shot Program. The development of ways to determine who needs treatment and who has less threatening disease, and as well as development of predictive biomarkers to monitor the progression from androgen-sensitive to castrate-resistant prostate cancers, will guide the progress of this program.

    Our goals are to:

    • Use epidemiologic risk-prediction models to determine which patients can be spared intervention and which require aggressive treatment
    • Reduce mortality by 30% in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients at risk for recurrence and patients with advanced prostate cancer
    • Increase the progression-free survival of patients with treatment-resistant disease
    • Personalize treatment for patients with advanced and therapy-resistant prostate cancer
    • Develop biomarkers to monitor progression to castrate-resistant disease and to stratify patients for optimal therapies (including immunotherapy)

    These efforts will fundamentally change the clinical course of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients.

     .

     

     

     

     

     

  • Research

    Currently, two main screening tests are used to detect prostate cancer. Prostate-specific antigen blood tests and digital rectal exams can help find cancer at its earliest stages, when chances for successful treatment are highest. However, these tests are controversial because screening may detect slow-growing prostate tumors, leading to unnecessary or overly aggressive treatment.

    Researchers will develop ways to detect the disease using proteomics, epidemiology, diagnostic imaging, pathology and genomics.

    Our research goals include:

    • Minimizing unnecessary treatment for indolent prostate cancer and improving treatment for aggressive prostate cancer
    • Identifying the causes of racial disparity between African and European-American prostate cancer patients. African-Americans are 1.5 times more likely than European-Americans to develop prostate cancer. Among those diagnosed, African-Americans are 2.3 times more likely than European-Americans to die of the disease.
    • Identifying molecular targets for prevention and therapy

  • Infrastructure

    Novel biomarkers, new patient-based genetic and signaling profiles, and results from co-clinical studies will allow for the stratification of patients with advanced prostate cancer, and the personalization of therapies. This approach will result in the validation of new combination therapies and the use of new therapeutic agents developed in the Moon Shot Program.

Next

Our Team

The moon shot leaders are charged with galvanizing the large and integrated team that will move forward in a milestone-driven manner to convert scientific knowledge into drugs, tests, devices and policies that can benefit patients as quickly as possible.

  • Christopher Logothetis, M. D.

    Christopher Logothetis, M.D.

    Chair and Professor, Genitourinary Medical Oncology
  • Timothy Thompson, Ph.D.

    Timothy Thompson, Ph.D.

    Professor, Genitourinary Medical Oncology - Research
  • Christopher Logothetis, M. D.

    Christopher Logothetis, M.D.

    Chair and Professor, Genitourinary Medical Oncology

  • Timothy Thompson, Ph.D.

    Timothy Thompson, Ph.D.

    Professor, Genitourinary Medical Oncology - Research

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Our Stories

These MD Anderson patients are surviving and thriving after their prostate diagnosis. What we have learned from their cancer journeys provides the launch platform for the prostate cancer moon shot.

Previous
  • Gerard First

    Gerard First

    Prostate

    When Gerard First visited his primary care physician for an annual check-up in 2007, he discovered his PSA level was slightly elevated for his age and was referred to a urologist. After an initial negative biopsy and another year with an elevated PSA, his doctor took another biopsy. It too was negative. A third came back positive for prostate cancer. First took his time to find the treatment option that was right for him. In researching available options, he became aware of proton therapy and the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center. When asked what he would tell other men facing a prostate cancer diagnosis, First says, “You must investigate and understand the pros and cons of every treatment option appropriate for your stage of the disease.” Today, First continues to work in the veterinary medical field where he builds equipment for the horse race industry, which requires a lot of travel. When he’s not traveling for work he enjoys being outdoors. Read the full story…

  • George Strake

    George Strake

    Prostate

    “In the old days, if you had cancer, you didn’t talk about it,” says Houston oil and gas executive and former Texas Secretary of State George Strake. “People sort of whispered about it.” But secrecy has never been Strake’s style. So when a biopsy in December 2008 indicated he had prostate cancer, Strake didn’t go into hiding. He didn’t panic. Searching for answers, he made an appointment at MD Anderson’s multidisciplinary prostate cancer clinic. He opted for radiation therapy. Strake says he’s a true believer in the open, multidisciplinary approach pioneered at the clinic. As for the experts who studied his case and gave him a recommendation, “I got the feeling they were interested in what was best for me,” Strake says. “That really sold me.” Read the full story…

  • Gerard First

    Gerard First

    Prostate

    When Gerard First visited his primary care physician for an annual check-up in 2007, he discovered his PSA level was slightly elevated for his age and was referred to a urologist. After an initial negative biopsy and another year with an elevated PSA, his doctor took another biopsy. It too was negative. A third came back positive for prostate cancer. First took his time to find the treatment option that was right for him. In researching available options, he became aware of proton therapy and the MD Anderson Proton Therapy Center. When asked what he would tell other men facing a prostate cancer diagnosis, First says, “You must investigate and understand the pros and cons of every treatment option appropriate for your stage of the disease.” Today, First continues to work in the veterinary medical field where he builds equipment for the horse race industry, which requires a lot of travel. When he’s not traveling for work he enjoys being outdoors. Read the full story…

  • George Strake

    George Strake

    Prostate

    “In the old days, if you had cancer, you didn’t talk about it,” says Houston oil and gas executive and former Texas Secretary of State George Strake. “People sort of whispered about it.” But secrecy has never been Strake’s style. So when a biopsy in December 2008 indicated he had prostate cancer, Strake didn’t go into hiding. He didn’t panic. Searching for answers, he made an appointment at MD Anderson’s multidisciplinary prostate cancer clinic. He opted for radiation therapy. Strake says he’s a true believer in the open, multidisciplinary approach pioneered at the clinic. As for the experts who studied his case and gave him a recommendation, “I got the feeling they were interested in what was best for me,” Strake says. “That really sold me.” Read the full story…

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Prostate Resources

Links, video and audio podcasts with more information from MD Anderson about prostate cancer

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