News briefs: potential breakthroughs in treatment of prostatitis, bladder outlet obstruction, renal cell cancer, and prostate cancer.(Medication Minute)

Publication: Urologic Nursing

Publication Date: 01-DEC-03

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Vaccine Therapy for Treating Renal Cell Carcinoma

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) can be effectively treated by radical nephrectomy when diagnosed in early stages, but approximately one-third of all patients develop metastatic disease. Median survival post metastasis is 7 to 11 months. Adjuvant therapy often does not prevent progression. Also, in advanced RCC, chemotherapy and radiation are generally ineffective. Immunotherapy is minimally effective, and combination therapy using cytokines and chemotherapy gives slightly better results but with more toxicity due to higher doses. Several clinical studies in the United States and Europe have shown promise for use of vaccine sources including dendritic cells pulsed with tumor antigens or hybridized with irradiated antologous tumor cells, vaccine-primed lymph node cells, and heat shock protein-peptide complexes in treating RCC in...

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