Advanced prostatic adenocarcinoma: biological aspects and effects of androgen deprivation achieved by castration or agonistic analogues of LHRH

Three-dimensional type I collagen gel system for the study of osteoblastic metastases produced by metastatic prostate cancer

We developed a three-dimensional type I collagen gel cell culture system that allows coculturing of human MG-63 osteoblast-like cells and various human cancer cells. Inoculation of human PC-3 metastatic prostate cancer cells into this type I collagen gel containing human MG-63 osteoblast-like cells produced an osteoblastic-like reaction that presented as an increased number of MG-63 cells and increased density of type I collagen around MG-63 cells adjacent to inoculated PC-3 cells by microscope analysis. Under identical experimental conditions, inoculation of cell-free medium, human KLE endometrial adenocarcinoma cells, and Calu-1 lung cancer cells did not produce this blastic-like reaction. In situ hybridization documented the uniform expression of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) mRNA in MG-63 and PC-3 cells separately cultured in this substrata. The uniform expression of uPA was also documented by immunocytochemistry using a monoclonal and a polyclonal antihuman uPA antibody. The relative expression of uPA was higher in PC-3 cells than in MG-63, KLE, and Calu-1 cancer cells. We conclude that this novel cell culture system may become a useful model to study the pathophysiology of the osteoblastic reaction in vitro.

An oriented phase-II trial of D-Trp6-LH-RH in patients with prostatic carcinoma

An oriented phase II trial of D-Trp6-LH-RH was conducted according to Gehan's statistical method on 25 patients suffering from prostatic carcinoma. LH and testosterone serum levels decreased rapidly. Pain disappeared during the third month in 14 out of the 21 patients and markedly decreased in 5. Prostatism completely regressed in 10 out of the 22 subjects presenting it and markedly decreased in 9. Prostate hypertrophy regressed, as shown by ultrasonography, in 84% and by more than 50% in 37% of the patients. The overall regression rate of bone scintigraphy images was 43%; a regression of more than 50% was only registered in 12.5% of the patients; this may be explained by the long time which is necessary before bone image disappearance occurs. Prostatic acid phosphatase levels regressed in 75% and by more than 50% in 66.7% of the patients.