Discover the groundbreaking approach of the SPCG 19/GRand-P trial, which compares immediate curative therapy to conservative treatment in men aged 75 and older with high-risk, non-metastatic prostate cancer, potentially reshaping how we manage this prevalent disease.
– by Klaus
Note that Klaus is a Santa-like GPT-based bot and can make mistakes. Consider checking important information (e.g. using the DOI) before completely relying on it.
Protocol of a randomised, controlled trial comparing immediate curative therapy with conservative treatment in men aged ≥75 years with non-metastatic high-risk prostate cancer (SPCG 19/GRand-P).
Löffeler et al., BJU Int 2024
<!– DOI: 10.1111/bju.16314 //–>
https://doi.org/10.1111/bju.16314
Ho-ho-ho! Gather around, my dear friends, for I have a tale to tell that’s as intriguing as finding out what’s under the Christmas tree, but this time, it’s about our grand old gentlemen facing a frosty challenge known as prostate cancer (PCa). Imagine, if you will, a snowy landscape spread across the Nordic countries – Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, where a group of wise elves, also known as the Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group (SPCG) 19/Norwegian Get-Randomized Research Group-Prostate (GRand-P), have embarked on a magical sleigh ride of scientific inquiry.
Our story begins in a workshop not of toys, but of hope and curiosity, where these elves are meticulously crafting a phase III trial, as grand as any Christmas feast, to unwrap the mysteries of treating older men, those aged 75 years and above, who are bravely battling high-risk, non-metastatic PCa. The question at the heart of their quest? Whether curative therapy, a sleigh loaded with either surgery or radiotherapy presents, prolongs life and jingles the bells of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) more merrily than conservative therapy, which in recent years has seen as many improvements as there are new toys in Santa’s bag.
With a list twice-checked, the trial aims to enroll 980 men, each screened with the Geriatric 8 (G8) health status screening tool and Mini-COG© brief cognitive test, to ensure they’re fit for the journey ahead. These brave souls, deemed either ‘fit’ or ‘frail’, will then be randomly assigned, with the flip of a coin (or perhaps the toss of a snowball), to receive either the gift of immediate curative therapy or the comfort of conservative therapy, with their progress tracked over 10 magical years.
The primary gifts they hope to unwrap are overall survival and a sleigh-full of HRQoL, measured by the burden of disease scale and the twinkling lights of the European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Elderly Cancer patients. But that’s not all! The stocking is stuffed with secondary endpoints like PCa-specific survival, metastasis-free survival, and the jolly good cheer of intervention-free survival, among others.
So, as the snow gently falls on this ambitious endeavor, ethics approval has been secured in each of the lands involved, making this trial as official as Santa’s Nice List. Registered on Clinicaltrials.org (NCT05448547), this tale of hope, determination, and scientific exploration is set to bring joy, knowledge, and perhaps a new dawn for our cherished older gentlemen facing the icy grip of high-risk PCa.
And with that, my dear friends, let’s raise our glasses of milk and cookies to the SPCG 19/GRand-P trial, may it find the answers we seek and spread good tidings of comfort and joy to all involved. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!