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The Asian Prostate Cancer (A-CaP) study is an Asia-wide initiative that was launched in December 2015 in Tokyo, Japan, with the objective of surveying information about patients who have received a histopathological diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa) and are undergoing treatment and clarifying distribution of staging, the actual status of treatment choices, and treatment outcomes. The study aims to clarify the clinical situation for PCa in Asia and use the outcomes for the purposes of international comparison. Following the first meeting in Tokyo in December 2015, the second A-CaP meeting was held in Seoul, Korea, in September 2016. This, the third A-CaP meeting, was held on October 14, 2017, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with the participation of members and collaborators from 12 countries and regions. In the meeting, participating countries and regions presented the current status of data collection, and the A-CaP office presented a preliminary analysis of the registered cases received from each country and region. Participants discussed ongoing challenges relating to data input and collection, institutional, and legislative issues that may present barriers to data sharing, and the outlook for further patient registrations through to the end of the registration period in December 2018. In addition to A-CaP-specific discussions, a series of special lectures were also delivered on the situation for health insurance in the United States, the correlation between insurance coverage and PCa outcomes, and the outlook for robotic surgery in the Asia-Pacific region. Members also confirmed the principles of authorship in collaborative studies, with a view to publishing original articles based on A-CaP data in the future.

Background and Objectives: Damage to the vocal folds frequently results in fibrosis, which can degrade vocal quality due to the buildup of collagen and modifications in the extracellular matrix (ECM). Conventional treatments have shown limited success in reversing fibrotic changes. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and c-Met-targeting antibodies are promising due to their potential to inhibit fibrosis and promote regeneration. This research examines the effectiveness of injections containing c-Met agonistic antibodies relative to HGF in reducing fibrosis within a rat model of vocal fold injury. Materials and Methods: Forty-five Sprague Dawley rats were divided into three groups, which were HGF, c-Met agonistic antibody, and the control (PBS). The right vocal folds were injured and treated with HGF or c-Met agonistic antibody injections. RNA isolation and quantitative real-time PCR were performed to assess mRNA levels of fibrosis-related markers at 1 and 2 weeks post-injury. Histopathological analysis was conducted at 3 weeks to evaluate collagen and hyaluronic acid (HA) deposition. Results: Both the HGF and c-Met groups demonstrated reduced type III collagen mRNA expression compared to the PBS group. The c-Met group uniquely maintained fibronectin levels closer to normal. Additionally, the c-Met group showed significantly upregulated expression of hyaluronan synthase (HAS) 1 and HAS 3 at 2 weeks post-injury, indicating enhanced HA synthesis. Histological analysis showed significantly lower collagen deposition and higher HA in the c-Met group than in PBS, confirming superior anti-fibrotic effects and ECM restoration. Conclusions: c-Met agonistic antibody injections outperformed HGF in reducing fibrosis, upregulating HAS expression, and promoting HA deposition in injured vocal folds, highlighting its potential as a superior therapeutic approach for preventing fibrosis and enhancing ECM quality in vocal fold injuries. Further research on functional outcomes in larger models is recommended to validate these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The incidence of prostate cancer (PC) is increasing in Asian countries. The epidemiology of PC, its treatment including the use of novel therapeutic options, impacts on quality of life, and clinical outcomes of patients with PC in Asia, are not well documented. Objectives: To describe the demographic and disease features of the full cohort of patients enrolled in the United in Fight against prOstate cancer (UFO) registry. Design: The UFO registry was a multi-national, longitudinal, observational study of patients with PC presenting to participating tertiary care hospitals in eight Asian countries/regions. Methods: Patients with high-risk localized PC (HRL), non-metastatic biochemically recurrent, or metastatic PC were consecutively enrolled from September 14, 2015 until September 1, 2020 and followed for up to 5 years. Results: Among the full cohort of 3635 patients, 425 had HRL, 389 had non-metastatic biochemically recurrent, and 2821 had metastatic PC. Median follow-up time was 4.2, 4.2, and 2.6 years, respectively. At first diagnosis, the mean age ranged from 65.7 to 69.1 years, 38.5% had extra-capsular tumor extension, 34.0% had regional lymph node metastases, and 65.1% had distant metastases. Quality-of-life scores at enrollment were significantly worse in patients with metastatic disease. Decisions to start therapy were mainly driven by treatment guidelines and disease progression. The decision to discontinue hormonal therapy was often due to disease progression. Few patients received novel hormonal therapies despite their availability. Conclusion: The UFO registry provides a detailed, contemporary picture of the characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of patients with PC in Asia. There is an unmet medical need to improve access to novel agents in Asia, aiming to improve quality of life and clinical outcomes. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02546908, Registry Identifier: NOPRODPCR4001. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzalutamide significantly improved radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) and overall survival (OS) among men with chemotherapy-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer at the prespecified interim analysis of PREVAIL, a phase 3, double-blind, randomized study. We evaluated the longer-term efficacy and safety of enzalutamide up to the prespecified number of deaths in the final analysis, which included an additional 20 mo of follow-up for investigator-assessed rPFS, 9 mo of follow-up for OS, and 4 mo of follow-up for safety. Enzalutamide reduced the risk of radiographic progression or death by 68% (hazard ratio [HR] 0.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.28-0.37; p

The Asian Prostate Cancer (A-CaP) Study is an Asia-wide initiative that has been developed over the course of 2 years. The A-CaP Study is scheduled to begin in 2016, when each participating country or region will begin registration of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients and conduct prognosis investigations. From the data gathered, common research themes will be identified, such as comparisons among Asian countries of background factors in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients. This is the first Asia-wide study of prostate cancer and has developed from single country research efforts in this field, including in Japan and Korea. The inaugural Board Meeting of A-CaP was held on December 11, 2015 at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, attended by representatives of all participating countries and regions, who signed a memorandum of understanding concerning registration for A-CaP. Following the Board Meeting an A-CaP Launch Symposium was held. The symposium was attended by representatives of countries and regions participating in A-CaP, who gave presentations. Presentations and a keynote address were also delivered by representatives of the University of California San Francisco, USA, and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Australia, who provided insight and experience on similar databases compiled in their respective countries.

BackgroundEnzalutamide is an oral androgen-receptor inhibitor that prolongs survival in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in whom the disease has progressed after chemotherapy. New treatment options are needed for patients with metastatic prostate cancer who have not received chemotherapy, in whom the disease has progressed despite androgen-deprivation therapy.MethodsIn this double-blind, phase 3 study, we randomly assigned 1717 patients to receive either enzalutamide (at a dose of 160 mg) or placebo once daily. The coprimary end points were radiographic progression-free survival and overall survival.ResultsThe study was stopped after a planned interim analysis, conducted when 540 deaths had been reported, showed a benefit of the active treatment. The rate of radiographic progression-free survival at 12 months was 65% among patients treated with enzalutamide, as compared with 14% among patients receiving placebo (81% risk reduction; hazard ratio in the enzalutamide group, 0.19; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.15 to 0.23; P

This report summarizes the presentations and discussions that took place at the Seventh Joint Meeting of the Korea-Japan Study Group of Prostate Cancer (K-J-CaP) and the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor (CaPSURE) held in Seoul, Korea, in September 2013. The original J-CaP and CaPSURE Joint Initiative has now been established since 2007 and since the initial collaboration between research teams in the United States (US) and Japan, the project has expanded to include several other Asian countries. The objective of the initiative is to analyze and compare data for prostate cancer patients in the participating countries, looking at similarities and differences in patient management and outcomes. Until now the focus has been primarily on data generated within J-CaP and CaPSURE, both large-scale, longitudinal, observational databases of prostate cancer patients in Japan and the US, respectively. This year's meeting was hosted for the first time in Korea which has recently established its own national database-K-CaP-to add to the wealth of data generated by J-CaP and CaPSURE. As a newly-developed database, K-CaP has also provided a valuable 'template' for other countries, such as China and Indonesia, planning to establish their own national databases and this will ultimately allow greater opportunities for international data comparisons. A range of topics was discussed at this Seventh Joint Meeting including comparison of outcomes following androgen deprivation therapy or radical prostatectomy in patients with localized prostate cancer, the use of active surveillance as a treatment option and the triggers for intervention when employing this regimen, patient quality of life during treatment, the impact of comorbidities on outcomes, and a comparison of recent outcomes data between J-CaP and CaPSURE. The participants recognized that prostate cancer was now a global disease and therefore major insights into understanding and improving the management of this condition would arise from global interactions such as this joint initiative.