Takeaways from Dr. Sanda’s Chat on Prostate Cancer
About Dr. Martin Sanda
Martin G. Sanda, MD, an internationally recognized prostate cancer surgeon and scientist, was appointed chair of the Department of Urology at Emory University School of Medicine and service chief for Emory Healthcare. He also serves as director of the Prostate Cancer Center, which will be established within Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute.
Sanda joins Emory from Harvard Medical School, where he was professor of surgery in urology, and from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he served as director of the Prostate Cancer Center. He was also the co-leader of the Prostate Cancer Program at the Dana Farber Cancer Center.
As you know, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, second only to skin cancers. Emory Healthcare is privileged to partner with you in your health and is ready and able to assist if needed. Please use the resources on this page and this website to contact us if we can help in any way.
Question: What are today’s best prostate cancer diagnosis methodologies? Answer: Despite a lot of advances in imaging tests such as MRI or higher-resolution ultrasound, there is still a need to biopsy the prostate in order to determine whether or not prostate cancer is present. The biopsy provides important information, not only as to whether there are cancer cells, but if so, how aggressive or how fast-growing those cancer cells appear to be. Bone scans and CT scans are useful to look for spread of prostate cancer elsewhere. Also, new PET (positron emission tomography) scans or other diagnostic studies that image molecules which are taken up by cancerous tissue and not by normal tissue are emerging. But, their role in standard care is not yet sorted out. MRI can provide valuable information about the size and configuration of tumors in the prostate itself and the immediate vicinity, as part of a watchful waiting monitoring plan, or as a guide for treatment planning.
Question: What are the dangers of conventional biopsy?
Answer: The main risk of prostate cancer biopsy is infection, which can be seen in approximately one out of 50 to one out of 100 cases and can require hospitalization for treatment. More commonly, some men may feel faint after a biopsy and should plan on taking the day off or taking it easy if they undergo a prostate biopsy procedure. Rarely, men might experience bleeding from where the needle is inserted into the prostate and this, too, can require hospitalization. Common after prostate biopsy is having blood in the semen or ejaculate; however, this does not pose any danger or risks and will typically resolve in a matter of a few weeks.
Question: Are there new drugs and and prostate cancer treatments on the near horizon?
Answer: Major scientific discoveries have taken place over the past five to 10 years and many more are underway. This has led to a half-dozen new treatments for advanced prostate cancer that have become available in the past several years. A broad range of new treatments are being developed, including more refined types of hormonal therapy, including immune therapies or therapeutic vaccines and also targeted therapies that are aimed at molecular differences between the cancer cell and normal tissue.
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