Nebraska Cancer Specialists

Nebraska Cancer Specialist will be one of 50 sites in the United States approved to use Provenge in its treatment for Prostate cancer.  The vaccine treatment has become the first cancer therapy of its kind to win approval for use in U.S. patients.  Luke Nordquist, MD, FACP, at Nebraska Cancer Specialists, announced that the drug, Provenge, will be available for treatment use at their facility for specific Prostate Cancer therapy for patients who fit the criteria.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Provenge, a novel technique for fighting prostate cancer, on Thursday, April 29, 2010. The treatment involves taking a patient's own white blood cells and using a drug that trains them to more actively
attack cancer cells.

Dr. Nordquist noted that the treatment is intended only for men with so-called
"metastatic castration-resistant" prostate cancer, for whom hormone
suppressant therapy has not worked.The therapy involves extracting white blood cells from a patient, mixing them with vaccine components and injecting the combination back into the person. It is designed to be given earlier in treatment of the cancer and pose fewer side effects than chemotherapy. Although Provenge is considered a vaccine, it is a treatment for patients who already have prostate cancer, rather than a preventative measure.