Sanofi-Aventis, one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, issued a press release that stated Taxotere (docetaxel) improves survival in patients with metastatic prostate cancer.

A Phase III clinical trial named TAX 327 compared Taxotere plus prednisone to Novantrone (mitoxantrone) plus prednisone. The study included a little over a thousand men who had recurrences or spread of disease after hormonal therapy.

The results of the study showed that survival was improved by 21 percent among patients treated with the Taxotere based therapy. The men also were without pain for a longer periods of time than those treated with Novantrone based therapy.

Researchers conclude that these long term results continue to provide evidence that Taxotere based therapy improves survival for advanced prostate cancer patients.

Canadian and international researchers suspect adding a high-dose vitamin D pill to chemotherapy might improve treatment for advanced prostate cancer. So they are recruiting 1,000 men for a two-year clinical trial in order to investigate their suspicions. Currently, there is little to offer patients who no longer respond to to standard treatment.

The trial will test the pill calcitriol -- a biologically active form of vitamin D and naturally occurring hormone -- to see how it works in combination with the chemotherapy drug docetaxel. Precautions will be taken to minimize side effects that can occur with high-dose supplements.

The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that 20,700 men in Canada will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year. About 4,200 of these men are expected to die from the disease.

Last week The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Taxotere (docetaxel) for the use in combination with cisplatin and fluorouracil prior to radiation therapy for the treatment of patients with inoperable, locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

A trial was conducted that included 358 patients with previously untreated, inoperable, locally advanced head and neck cancer. The patients were divided into two groups. One group received Taxotere in combination with cisplatin and fluorouracil and the other group received only cisplatin and fluorouracil. Chemotherapy was administered before radiation treatments. The patients that received the Taxotere experienced a longer survival time and a longer time to disease progression.

Steven Galson, M.D., director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said "Today's approval will provide prescribers with a new treatment option that has been shown to help slow the spread of the disease and prolong patient's survival."

Hormone refractory prostate cancer is when the prostate cancer cells continue to grow after an initial period of success with hormonal therapy. Most prostate cancers are hormone dependent and require male sex hormones to grow, usually over time the prostate cancer cells develop the ability to grow in the absence of the male hormones.

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.

You can join this trial that researchers will enroll 1,020 men with metatastic prostate cancer that is progressing despite hormone therapy by going to see the list of eligibility criteria.

The use of Taxotere (docetaxel) based regimens for women with late stage breast cancer has been available since 2001. Studies today find that the use of Taxotere (docetaxel) improve survival rate and the quality of life and helps reverse progress of metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer.

Today the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), UK, released a guidance that recommends that all eligible patients with prostate cancer have access to the cancer drug. Taxotere® (docetaxel) has an acceptable increase of side effects. The most commonly reported adverse reaction associated with Taxotere® (docetaxel) is low white cell count, which may lead to infection, but is reversible and not cumulative. Other common side effects include flushing, skin rash, chest tightness, back pain, anemia, nausea, sore mouth and taste change, diarrhea, hair loss, hypersensitivity and tiredness.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, excluding skin cancer. American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates for 2005 include 232,090 new cases of prostate cancer in the US. Year 2005 estimates include 30,350 deaths occurring from prostate cancer in the US alone, making it the second leading cause of cancer death in men.