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Medicines that prolong life, others that slow the progression of the disease, more precise diagnoses: pioneering prostate cancer research has had good years.
Progress has been extraordinary over the past 15 years because, first, we begin to understand the disease better and second, we begin to convince the public and decision makers that it is a cancer that needs to be taken seriously.
Florian Jean, a patient of Dr. Saad who suffers from severe cancer with metastases, can attest to this.
I’ve been going to doctors for 15 years and they try all kinds of things. And they extended me to this day. And I’m fine at the moment
, testifies Florian Jean, 75 years old.
Two years ago, after another relapse, he was offered an experimental treatment that targets some faulty genes.
Florian Jean
Photo: Radio-Canada
He started doing research at the DNA level, looking for biomarkers. And in my case, they found one: the BRCA2.
In both men and women, certain mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes predispose to very aggressive forms of cancer.
This is a problem that can now be treated, according to a study in which CHUM took part.
It has been shown that we can delay the progression of the disease, metastases, the progression of metastases. But very recently, the study showed that we significantly prolong the survival of these people.
says Dr. Fred Saad.
According to the PROfound study, cancer progression decreased by 60% and the survival rate increased by 30%.
Advances in the fight against prostate cancer
Photo: Radio-Canada
For Florian Jean, Dr. Saad’s treatment was decisive.
It’s been two years and my aps [le taux d’antigène prostatique spécifique, qui peut indiquer à quel point les traitements sont efficaces, NDLR] it fell to 0.09. At the moment he tells me that everything is going well. He calls me his miracle
confides the seventy-year-old.
Another study shows that by prescribing treatment more quickly, we can make significant gains.
It is extraordinary, it exceeds all my personal expectations
because starting earlier greatly improves patients’ chances of survival, says Dr. Fred Saad, co-director of the PROSPER studio.
According to this study, survival increased by one year.
The use of advanced technologies and radiotracers also makes it possible to discover very small tumors, previously invisible.
These patients, yes, have cancer that appears to be localized, but we know very well that, based on their characteristics, they are at risk of having the disease that is not detected and which would be harmful to leave untreated.
explains Dr. Cynthia Ménard, a radiation therapist at CHUM.
In a preliminary study, the diagnostic accuracy of 50% of the participants was therefore improved.
Dr. Cynthia Ménard is a radiologist oncologist at CHUM.
Photo: Radio-Canada
We have been very successful with new drugs, new approaches, new radiotracers, new images. It is a very interesting time to be able to participate in prostate cancer research
, she says.
Hopefully, we want to implement this new way of diagnosing this cancer across the country.
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