Discussions on health care issues are dominated by Covid-19: this tends to happen during a pandemic that has caused so many deaths. What has been the impact of this pandemic on the treatment of patients with prostate cancer? In this issue, we interview physicians in academia and private practice in the United States and Great Britain. Several common themes emerge from these interviews. For many patients, treatment of prostate cancer has been delayed or otherwise altered. This is theresult of resources, such as hospital facilities, being commandeered for treatment of the virus. It is also tru ..read more

Dr. Stacey Kenfield an epidemiologist and associate professor in the Urology Department at the University of California, San Francisco who explores through her research how dietary and lifestyle factors impact both the risk of aggressive prostate cancer as well as the risk of prostate cancer progression. Prostatepedia spoke with her about diet, lifestyle, and prostate cancer. What kinds of diet, exercise, and lifestyle recommendations do you  and your team at UCSF make for  men with prostate cancer about  to undergo surgery, radiation therapy, or androgen deprivation therapy (AD ..read more

Dr. Charles G. Drake is the  Director of Genitourinary Oncology, Co-Director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Program, and Associate Director for Clinical Research at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.   Dr. Drake discusses the thinking behind combining radiation therapy with immunotherapy  as well as the rare but intriguing abscopal effect. Have you had a particular patient who changed how you approach your work?  Dr. Charles Drake: Absolutely. I had a gentleman who had metastatic, castrate-resistant prostat ..read more

Dr. James Eastham, Chief of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Urology Service,  is a surgeon who specializes in nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy and salvage radical prostatectomy. Prostatepedia spoke with him recently about surgical options when cancer comes back after initial treatment. Why did you become a doctor? Dr. James Eastham: I didn’t decide to become a doctor until my third year  of college. I was a chemistry major. I had worked in the laboratory and thought I wanted to work more with people. I had a science background and lots of friends who were pre-med. They thought that bei ..read more

Dr. Dieli-Conwright is an Assistant Professor of Research in the University of Southern California’s Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy. She’s particularly interested in understanding physiologic mechanisms and designing exercise interventions for  cancer patients.Prostatepedia spoke with her about her clinical trial. How did you come to study exercise in cancer patients? Dr. Dieli-Conwright: : It came about pretty early on when I was a graduate student. I started to read more and more literature that was published about the association between how much someone exercised in t ..read more

Dr. Susan Slovin, MD, PhD, is a medical oncologist specializing in prostate cancer immunology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.  Prostatepedia spoke with her recently about caring for her prostate cancer patients with COVID-19.  How are things going for you this week? It's my clinic day, so we have a lot of video and teleconferences. They're exhausting. There's nothing like a physical exam. And we are now addressing, as discussed last week, goals of care with each patient because of the COVID-19 setting. We want to make sure that people understand what will ..read more

Dr. Oliver Sartor, one of the leading researchers in advanced prostate cancer today, talks about stumbling through the transition to telemedicine, the introduction of rapid COVID-19 testing in cancer centers in New Orleans, and the potential impact of delayed cancer treatments.  He is the Laborde Professor of Cancer Research in the Medicine and Urology Departments of the Tulane School of Medicine, the editor-in-chief of Clinical Genitourinary Cancer and the author of more than 400 scientific papers.  How difficult it is for you to transition to telemedicine? How concerned a ..read more

Dr. Susan Slovin, MD, PhD, is a medical oncologist specializing in prostate cancer immunology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.  Prostatepedia spoke with her recently about caring for her prostate cancer patients with COVID-19.  What's going on this week?  Dr. Susan Slovin: We still have patients coming in with COVID-19. I unfortunately lost another patient on Monday, which caused a lot of tears. This is somebody who we kept hoping could be treated. He went to a nursing home, but he did not like the nursing home and came back. He then tested positive fo ..read more

Dr. Pedro Barata is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Tulane Cancer Center. He’s keenly interested in genitourinary tumors with a particular focus on clinical trials. Prostatepedia spoke with him recently about the intersection between cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer. Why did you become a doctor?  And what has kept you interested? Dr. Pedro Barata: I’m Portuguese and lived in Portugal for a long period of my life. Since I was young, I’ve been fascinated by medicine and research, and in particular, clinical research with patients.  I remember thinking about how to h ..read more

Dr. Oliver Sartor, one of the leading researchers in advanced prostate cancer today, talks about what is happening in New Orleans this week, increased COVID-19 testing, and the beginning of antibody testing over the next few weeks.  He is the Laborde Professor of Cancer Research in the Medicine and Urology Departments of the Tulane School of Medicine, the editor-in-chief of Clinical Genitourinary Cancer and the author of more than 400 scientific papers How do you feel things are going this week in terms of getting the pandemic under control? Dr. Oliver Sartor: I think we're turning the corner ..read more