Friends say he impacted almost every corner of TV programming for decades. If he wasn’t in front of a crowd, he was behind the camera or behind the scenes, credited with shaping the television world.

Griffin began his TV career over half a century ago. His number one hit “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts” propelled his career in 1950.

He launched Jeopardy! in the 1960’s, and the show still brings good ratings even today. The broadcasting pioneer sold his shows in 1986, as well as Merv Griffin Enterprises. They went for a reported value of $250 million, and a share of future profits. It was reported that Griffin made $80 million in royalties alone for composing the theme song to Jeopardy!.

Merv Griffin was initially diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1996. He made good progress against the cancer but then his condition declined rapidly, and by Friday he was reported to be in grave condition.

Merv Griffin is survived by his only son, Anthony. “My father was a visionary,” he said. “He loved business and continued his many projects and holdings even while hospitalized.”

Previous research found that, individually, both the green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a known antioxidant, and cox-2 inhibitors helped fight prostate cancer in animals.

In this study of cultured human prostate cancer cells and mice, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that a combination of EGCG and the cox-2 inhibitor celecoxib (Celebrex) was 15 percent to 28 percent more effective in slowing the growth of cancer cells than either agent alone.

The study, which was funded by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, was published March 1 in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.

“Celecoxib and green tea have a synergistic effect — each triggering cellular pathways that, combined, are more powerful than either agent alone. We hope that a clinical trial could lead to a preventative treatment as simple as tea time,” Hasan Mukhtar, professor of dermatology and a member of the Paul Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center, said in a prepared statement.

“Prostate cancer typically arises from more than one defect in the cellular mechanics, which means that a single therapeutic might not work fighting a particular cancer long-term. If tests in human trials replicate (the results of this study), we could see a powerful combined therapy that is both simple to administer and relatively cost effective,” Mukhtar said.

Oppal said he is scheduled to have surgery March 20, and after the initial shock of the diagnosis he is confident about his recovery.

“I play basketball, I lift weights, I don’t smoke, I’m in fairly good health I thought, until they found this lump in a routine checkup,” Oppal said Thursday. “It’s very disconcerting. It’s a shock when you’re told you have cancer, but after you gather your emotional thoughts, you have to get your life together.”

Returning to the legislature after making an announcement in Vancouver about his condition, Oppal said he isn’t feeling any fatigue and doesn’t expect to be off work for long.

“I expect I’ll be a few days away, but I’m going to be working out of my Vancouver office,” the former B.C. Court of Appeal judge said. “I’m going to get a condo very close to it so they can bring me work.”

Oppal was joined at his Vancouver announcement by Premier Gordon Campbell and Tourism Minister Stan Hagen, who had a full recovery after surgery for prostate cancer. He urged older men to overcome their embarrassment and see their doctor for a checkup that includes a digital rectal examination.

Most good-prognosis patients who choose seed implants do not receive other treatments. Patients with more aggressive tumors may get seed implants plus external beam radiation.

Three out of four patients in the study remained disease free at least 15 years after treatment ended. It is not clear from the study if the patients would have fared equally well with either the seed implants or external-bean radiation therapy alone, however they are confident the combined therapy is very effective in treating prostate cancer.

The Pakistani scientist who confessed to leaking nuclear weapons technology to North Korea, Iran and Libya is in “excellent health” following cancer surgery, the military said Saturday.

Abdul Qadeer Khan is considered the father of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, making the country the known only Muslim nation to possess atomic bombs.

Khan, 70, had prostate cancer surgery on Sept. 16 at the Aga Khan hospital in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi. He has since returned home to the capital, Islamabad.

“Except for the minor complication of deep vein thrombosis involving only the left calf vein, which is now resolved with medical treatment, his post operative course has been satisfactory”,a report prepared by the panel of specialists looking after Dr A.Q. Khan, released by the ISPR here on Saturday said.

Dr Khan was examined by a team of doctors including Dr Farhat Abbas, Dr Kamran Majeed, Dr Saeed Akhtar and Lieut-Gen (retd) Riaz Ahmed Chowhan, as a follow up evaluation of recent surgery for prostate cancer.

The team of doctors found Dr Khan in high spirits and in excellent state of health having satisfactorily recovered from prostate cancer surgery two months ago.

His prostatic surgery specimen and pelvic lymph nodes was reviewed by a panel of expert Pathologists and it reveals that the prostate cancer was confined to the prostate gland with no evidence of spread outside the gland. The pelvic lymph nodes showed no evidence of spread of cancer. The entire surgical resection margins were clear of cancer.

As a follow up at six weeks after surgery, the serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA-prostate cancer marker) was found to be undetectable indicating successful removal of the entire cancer. The team of doctors expressed their full satisfaction over smooth recovery of Dr Khan and were pleased to see him in high spirits. In view of this undetectable PSA level and most favourable biopsy report, there is no need for any additional prostate cancer related treatment. He will be followed on a periodic basis.

Releasing the report prepared on Nov 12 the ISPR said it has been the policy of the govt to keep the public informed about the state of health of Dr Khan.

This isn’t the first time medical researchers have linked fats to cancer and its consequences. Recent studies have linked obesity to higher death rates from several types of the disease, and a previous Johns Hopkins study found that men on cholesterol-lowering drugs were less likely to develop fast-growing prostate tumors.

“We already know that maintaining a good range of cholesterol concentrations is important for cardiovascular health,” said Elizabeth A. Platz, epidemiologist of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. “Now we know there may be a benefit for other diseases, possibly prostate cancer.”

The scientists found no difference in the cholesterol levels of men with and without prostate cancer. But they did discover that men with low cholesterol were less likely to get aggressive cancers.

“What we’re thinking is that cholesterol doesn’t seem to influence the initial development of the disease,” Platz said. “Maybe it affects the progression of the disease and the differentiation status” — alterations in the appearance of prostate cells when they become aggressively cancerous.

Men with high-grade prostate cancer are also more likely to suffer a recurrence after having their prostates removed.

According to Platz, men do not have to be concerned about lowering their cholesterol to abnormal levels. Those less likely to develop aggressive tumors had cholesterol levels in the same range considered healthy for the cardiovascular system.

Overall, men whose cholesterol levels were no greater than 165 milligrams per deciliter of blood had the lower rates of high-grade prostate cancer. Platz, however, warned against interpreting this as a benchmark, saying the threshold differed from one subgroup to another. What the low-risk men had in common is that their cholesterol levels fell in the lowest fourth of the total group’s.

The scientists decided to study cholesterol levels after finding that men who took statins — a class of cholesterol-lowering medications — ran about half the risk of advanced prostate cancer as men not on the drugs. The researchers, however, don’t suggest taking statins solely for cancer prevention.

“It did say to us that there was something about cholesterol that may be of interest for prostate cancer,” Platz said.

Eric Jacobs, senior epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society, said the results were exciting. But he agreed with Platz that more research was needed to establish a clear connection between cholesterol and prostate cancer. Even so, he said evidence is growing that diet might play an important role in prostate cancer. Numerous studies have shown that obese men are more likely to develop the advanced disease.

Lesh revealed that he will undergo surgery in early December to have the cancer removed.

“Since we’ve caught it very early, and it’s small and slow-growing, I fully expect to have a rapid and complete recovery,” he stated.

The 66-year-old, who plays with his band Phil Lesh and Friends, was a founding member of the Grateful Dead. He was the band’s bassist for 30 years before they disbanded in 1995 due to the death of frontman and guitarist Jerry Garcia.

Dr. Harry Neuwirth is an oncologist at Sutter Marin General Hospital. He says the prostate is a gland that produces semen. As men get older, especially past 50, the prostate can become a cancer magnet. He urges annual blood tests beginning at 50, and at 40 for men with a family history of the disease.
“Patients with localized prostate cancer have a lot of excellent options now,” Dr. Neuwirth said. “With PSA screening, about three quarters of the patients are curable.

In the statement, Lesh said all his scheduled appearances will remain intact. He also sent a message to everyone: “Speak to your doctor about having periodic regular PSA screening for early detection of prostate cancer—you may save your own life.” He added that he’s grateful to be alive. “The message is, be tested,” Lesh said.

]]> http://www.knowcancer.net/2006/11/02/phil-lesh-of-grateful-dead-diagnosed-with-prostate-cancer/feed/ 0 http://www.knowcancer.net/2006/10/30/better-and-safer-radiations-that-target-prostate/ http://www.knowcancer.net/2006/10/30/better-and-safer-radiations-that-target-prostate/#comments Mon, 30 Oct 2006 19:01:33 +0000 Know Cancer News http://www.knowcancer.net/2006/10/30/better-and-safer-radiations-that-target-prostate/ Results from the largest study of men with prostate cancer treated with high-dose, intensity modulated radiation (IMRT) show that 89 percent of men were disease free eight years later. Patients were treated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and classified into prognostic risk groups. After an average of eight years, 89 percent of the men in the favorable risk group were disease-free and none of the men in any group developed secondary cancers as a result of the radiation treatments.This report, published in the October 2006 issue of The Journal of Urology, is the first description of long term outcomes for prostate cancer patients using IMRT. Intensity modulated radiation is an improved form of three-dimensional conformal radiation (3D-CRT). IMRT uses enhanced planning treatment software that more precisely targets the prostate, allowing the beam of radiation to deliver a high dose to the tumor target while sparing the adjacent bladder and rectum from exposure to the higher amounts of radiation.

Dr. Michael J. Zelefsky, Chief of the Brachytherapy Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, said “This study confirms that we can improve patients’ quality of life by reducing the side effects of radiotherapy while maintaining disease-free survival.”

The study was done on 1370 patients who were randomized to receive either radiation and a placebo or radiation and 150mg once a day tablet bicalutamide. The findings showed that patients with locally advanced prostate cancer receiving the bicalutamide faired better than those with the placebo. This may be a more suitable treatment instead of castration therapies which can adversely affect the patient’s quality of life.

Bicalutamide has additional quality of life benefits relative to castration in terms of maintaining sexual interest, physical ability, and bone mineral density.

In this randomized Phase III trial, men with hormone refractory prostate cancer that has metastasized will receive standard chemotherapy with the drugs docetaxel and prednisone. Half of the participants will be randomly assigned to additionally receive treatment with a monoclonal antibody called bevacizumab (Avastin).

Avastin works by stopping some cancers from developing new blood vessels. This reduces the cancer’s supply of oxygen and nutrients, which causes the tumor to shrink, or at least to stop growing. Drugs that interfere with blood vessel growth in this way are called angiogenesis inhibitors or anti-angiogenics.

This Phase III trial will answer the question of whether adding bevacizaumab to docetaxal and prednisone actually does improve survival over the current standard of care.