Many of his patients have prostatic hypertrophy (BPH, prostatic intrewpithelial neoplasia (PIN), or frank prostate cancer, giving Dr. Katz a unique vantage point from which to study prostate disease progression. The center's main research focus is on the mechanisms, clinical efficacy, and potential therapeutic impact of herbs to prevent and treat prostate disease. He is particularly interested in the possibility of preventing or delaying the transition of PIN into prostatic carcinoma.
"Depending on whose study you read, 40%-60% of men with PIN will have prostate cancer within a year. It is almost inevitable that these guys will develop prostate cancer." Obviously preventing progression or, ideally, reversing PIN, is a holy grail for prostate cancer researchers, Dr. Katz included.
The just-published 7-year trial suggesting finasteride (Proscar) could reduce prostate cancer by 25% compared to placebo is being hailed as a major treatment advance in some circles. But Dr. Katz stressed that the data also showed a major downside: patients on finasteride in whom the disease did progress had far more aggresive tumors than those on placebo (Thompson IM, et al. N Engl J Med 2003; 169(9)).
Conventional pharmacotherapy still has very little to offer PIN patients by way of preventing progression to cancer, and Dr. Katz believes it is essential to take an open-minded look at herbs.
He and his research team have been studying a new product called Zyflamend, manufactured by the US-based nutraceutical company, New Chapter (www.new-chapter.com or 800-543-7279). The product contains extracts of 10 plants, including: Tumeric (Curcuma longa), Ginger (Zingiber officinale), Holy Basil (Ocimum sanctum), Green Tea polyphenols, Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), Skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis), and Oregano (Origanum vulgare). Many of these plants individually have inhibitory effects on the COX-2 enzyme, and Dr. Katz team has confirmed that the Zyflamend combination, taken as a whole, is a COX-2 inhibitor in prostate cancer cell lines.
In data presented at last year's meeting of the Society for Urologic Oncology, they demonstrated that the 10-herb formula could decrease prostate cancer cell growth, induce apoptosis and inhibit angiogenesis. "COX inhibition is being looked at throughout oncology as a potential mechanism for chemoprevention," he said.
