Prostate Cancer
Treatment in Malaysia
At Onco Life Centre, our team takes a personalized approach to treating prostate cancer. We focus not only on treating the disease, but also on supporting the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of our patients every step of the way.
Prostate cancer is common in men over 50 years of age, with the risk of developing prostate cancer increasing with aging. Men with a first-degree relative, diagnosed with prostate cancer at a younger age will have an increased risk of developing the disease. The exact causes of prostate cancer are not known. Prostate cancer is comprised nearly always of adenocarcinoma cells that arise from glandular tissue. Prostate cancer commonly spreads to lymph nodes in the pelvis (metastasis to lymph nodes) and to the bones (metastasis to bones).
Why Choose Onco Life Centre?
Expertise You Can Trust, Innovation You Can Count On
Over 20 Years of
Experience
Our highly-qualified consultant oncologists boast extensive experience treating a vast array of cancers. Their training at prestigious institutions in Australia and the UK ensures exceptional expertise that you can trust.
Collaboration with
Leading Genomics Experts
For complex cases, our oncologists collaborate with leading genomics specialists in the US. This ensures access to the latest treatments for all cancer types.
Unmatched
patient experience
You and your healthcare experience are at the centre of what we do at Onco Life Centre. Our core values of Empathy, Dedication, Professionalism and Service Quality have driven us since our earliest days.
Treatment Methods
Talk to our prostate cancer oncologists at Onco Life Centre about your treatment options. The main treatments for prostate cancer are surgery, hormonal therapy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Often the best approach uses 2 or more of these treatment methods. It is important that you understand the goal of your treatment. If a cure is not possible, treatment is aimed at relieving symptoms such as pain.
The removal of the entire prostate gland and the urethra that runs through the prostate and the attached seminal vesicles is referred to as a radical prostatectomy. Radical prostatectomy is an appropriate treatment option for men with clinically localized prostate cancer with a life expectancy of 10 or more years. Pelvic lymph node dissection may be recommended depending on the Gleason score, PSA, and radiologic findings.
Prostate cancer is highly sensitive to and dependent on the level of the male hormone testosterone, which drives the growth of prostate cancer cells, except in poorly differentiated forms of prostate cancer.
Front-line hormonal therapy for advanced and metastatic prostate cancer is called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).
While it is not a curative treatment in that setting, it can both reduce symptoms and slow down the growth of the prostate cancer to prolong life.
Medications that block testosterone production by the testes include LH-RH agonists, LH-RH antagonists. Medications that block the action of testosterone include the androgen receptor blockers and are usually considered in individuals who have failed first-line ADT.
Adrenal androgen synthesis inhibitors block testosterone production from the adrenal glands. More recently, new agents in this class of drugs have been developed and are also considered in individuals who have failed first-line ADT.
The use of chemotherapy in metastatic prostate cancer (Stage 4 prostate cancer) is able to relieve symptoms of prostate cancer, and can prolong life. It is usually used in the setting of castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Chemotherapy drugs may damage the DNA of the cancer cells or disrupt the cells ability to divide. These effects can cause cells to die. Active chemotherapy drugs for the treatment of prostate cancer today include taxane drugs. Although traditionally recommended for men with castrate-resistant prostate cancer, the NCCN has also recommended the combination usage of chemotherapy and hormone therapy (use of taxane in combination with ADT) and EBRT in men with high- and very-high-risk localized prostate cancer.
There have been advances in the development of targeted therapy drugs for prostate cancer. If there is a BRCA mutation in the patient, then a PARP Inhibitor drug can be used to block PARP proteins, and make it very hard for the tumor cells with an abnrmal BRCA gene to repair damaged DNA, leading to the death of these cells. Our oncologist specialising in prostate cancer treatment prescribes this PARP inhibitor targeted therapy as an oral drug taken as a pill by mouth. It can be used in combination with hormonal therapy.
Targeted therapy are also used to treat metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer that have homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene mutations.
Please click here to learn more about Targeted Therapy
In immunoterapy for localized or metastatic prostate cancer, immune checkpoint inhibitors are used for patients whose prostate cancer cells have tested positive for specific gene changes. PD-1 inhibitor targets PD-1, a checkpoint protein on immune system cells called T cells, that normally helps keep these cells from attacking normal cells in the body. By blocking PD-1, this drug boosts the immune response against prostate cancer cells. It has shown promising results in prostate cancer treatment.
Please click here to learn more about Immunotherapy
Radiation therapy is a potentially curative treatment that uses radiation to kill cancer cells. External beam therapy (EBRT) is appropriate for men who are candidates for radical prostatectomy but do not wish to undergo the surgery or who are not ideal surgical candidates.
The NCCN guidelines recommend that patients with high-risk and very-high-risk prostate cancer receive neoadjuvant/concomitant/adjuvant hormone therapy (androgen deprivation therapy [ADT]) for a total of two to three years.
Several bone-targeted therapies have been approved for use by the US FDA, as both prostate cancer as well ADT can have a significant impact on bone health.
1) Bisphosphonates
These drugs encourage the death of the osteoclasts. In prostate cancer they impact the course of skeletal-related events including reducing pain in the bones, and delaying the progression of bone metastases associated problems including the appearance of fractures.
2) Monoclonal antibody therapy
This class of bone-targeted therapy inhibits a protein that tells the osteoclasts to remove bone. It does not require dose adjustments if kidney function deteriorates. In some studies, this agent appears to be more effective than bisphosphonates in delaying the initial onset of skeletal-related events in patients with bone metastases.
Prostate Cancer Staging
Clinical staging of prostate cancer is based on the pathology results, physical examination, PSA and radiologic studies. The American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC) TNM system for prostate cancer staging is as follows:
T1
Prostate cancers cannot be seen on imaging tests or felt on examination.
T2
Prostate cancers can be felt on examination and can be visualized with on imaging studies.
T3
Prostate cancers have extended beyond the prostate gland to possibly involve the seminal vesicle or bladder neck.
T4
Prostate cancers have invaded adjacent tissues or organs.
N0
Means that there is no prostate cancer evident in the nearby nodes.
N1
Means that there is evidence of prostate cancer in the nearby nodes.
M0
Means that there is no evidence of spread of prostate cancer into distant tissues or organs.
M1
Means that there is spread of prostate cancer into distant lymph nodes or organs.
Transparency You Can Trust
At Onco Life Centre, we understand the financial burden associated with Prostate cancer treatment. We are committed to transparency and will provide you with a personalized cost estimate during your initial consultation. Here is an estimate:
Chemotherapy:
At Onco Life Centre, the cost for treating prostate cancer using chemotherapy for most of our patients is around MYR4,000 per cycle.
Targeted Therapy:
Adding in Targeted Therapy can go up from MYR8,000, depending on the specific type of targeted therapy drug used.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy can range from MYR10,000 and above depending on the specific type and dosage of immunotherapy drug used.
Symptoms and Signs
A patient with early prostate cancer is usually asymptomatic. Prostate cancer symptoms associated with enlargement of the prostate gland may include:
- Frequent urination
- Difficulty in starting or stopping the urine stream
- A weak or interrupted urine stream
- Urinary retention
- Loss of control of urination
- Painful urination
- Blood in the urine or in the semen
Advanced prostate cancer symptoms may include:
- Bone pain and bone fracture from minor trauma
- Unexplained weight loss
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Swelling of the legs related to obstruction of the lymph tissue by prostate cancer.
Screening and Diagnosis of Prostate Cancer
Talk to our oncologists at Onco Life Centre about when screening should begin based on your age and family history of the disease.
Prostate cancer screening consists of periodic laboratory testing, usually every one to two years, which includes a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test and digital rectal examination. However, the PSA is not sensitive enough to pick up all prostate cancers, and can also be raised even in people with prostate glands that are infected, inflamed, or enlarged but not cancerous.
An abnormal PSA and/or abnormal digital rectal examination are the indications for prostate biopsy. Prostate cancer is definitively diagnosed by removal of small cores of prostate tissue, which are then examined under the microscope by a pathologist. The prostate cancer present will be assigned a numerical score, which is referred to as the Gleason Score. This characterizes the appearance of the cancer cells and helps predict its likely level of aggressiveness.
The PSA level, Gleason score and the extent of involvement of the biopsy core will allow our prostate cancer specialists at Onco Life Centre to formulate the best multidisciplinary treatment plan for you.
Your Journey
Start Your Recovery
Our dedicated Patient Navigator will assist you with appointment scheduling. Contact us at +6012-3993260 (Call or Whatsapp ).
First Consultation
On appointment day, bring along all the medical reports and your identity documents, ie. identity card or passport. Our team will help you organize the medical reports for our oncologist to review. Our oncologist will discuss the treatment plan with you. Tele-consult is available for overseas patients.
Treatment Day
Come to our center on an agreed date and time for the treatment. Our team will take good care of you. You will be discharged on the same day. Yes, you will get to go home after every treatment visit as no overnight admission is required.
Stay on Track
Our dedicated patient navigator will be following up with you post treatment to check on your condition, to ensure that you are doing well. You will receive a reminder message on your phone for the next appointment date.
Credentials You Can Trust
Ministry of Health Malaysia
Onco Life Centre is fully licensed as an Oncology Consultation and Treatment Centre (License No: 931401-00214-03/2024)
DR. CHRISTINA NG VAN TZE
MBBS (MELB), FELLOW RACP (AUS)
DR. JOSEPH KANIANTHRA JOSEPH
MBBCH, BAO (IRE), MRCP (UK)
I have been coming to OncoLife centre with my mother. She is under the care of Dr Christina since diagnosis and has been on targeted therapy and is doing well. Dr Christina Ng has been guiding my mum through her treatment and is quick to suggest changes if needed. She is also very ready to hear our concerns and will always take our preference into consideration. Communication with the staff is good and we can readily ask them questions at any time. The atmosphere of the clinic is also pleasant which makes waiting around not such a chore. Parking is readily available in the building. Overall, Onco Life is very patient centred and I am very thankful to Dr Christina and her team for the support they have given my mum and the family.
My mother was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer about 6 months ago at a hospital in KL. We were all very scared, worried and felt very lost at the same time. A friend suggested that we seek advice from Dr Christina Ng at Onco Life Centre. During our first consultation, Dr Christina had explained patiently to us that my mother has stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and it has spread to her liver and lung. She had suggested for my mother to promptly start on combination chemotherapy. We were initially worried about chemotherapy side effects. Dr Christina had explained to us that she would carefully select drugs which my mother would likely tolerate well. Much to our surprise, my mother was very well & energetic throughout her chemotherapy course. After 3 months of chemotherapy, she did a CT scan which showed a significant reduction in all tumor deposits in pancreas, liver, lungs & peritoneum. We are grateful towards Dr Christina Ng & her Team for giving us a great hope.
My husband was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer more than one year ago. He started treatment at another hospital but his condition worsened and he became fully dependent on oxygen support over 6 months. That was when we became very anxious and worried. We wanted to seek a second opinion and thus found Dr Christina Ng at Onco Life Centre. Dr Christina immediately adjusted his immunotherapy treatment protocol whilst actively treating his worsening infection. After 4 months under the care of Dr Christina, his condition has improved significantly and he is now totally off oxygen support. We are grateful that he is being given a new lease of life.
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