3 new treatments for advanced prostate cancer

BrianD3

The last few months have seen some interesting news about prostate cancer treatments. 2 new agents (one of them a vaccine) have been approved by the FDA and 1 other has recently completed phase III clinical trials with good results.

They are not "cures" or close to it and have only been shown to extend median survival by 2-4 months. Still it may be the case that small subsets of patients with advanced prostate cancer may have dramatic responses to one of them. The more agents there are, the more of these subsets there may be. They could be stepping stones on a path which sees advanced prostate cancer becoming much more treatable than it is currently.

Also they may compliment other therapies - this has happened to an extent in colon cancer. New chemo drugs were introduced which were not very effective on their own but meant that a small subset of patients with inoperable metastatic cancers had their cancers shrink enough that they became operable, dramatically increasing the chance of cure for these patients.

Cabazitaxel Approved In The USA To Extend Life In Prostate Cancer Victims
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/203129.php

FDA Approves PROVENGE(R) For The Treatment Of Men With Advanced Prostate Cancer
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/187318.php

Abiraterone Acetate Improves Survival In Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/204324.php

I was reading about the history of prostate cancer treatment and didn't realise that the first chemotherapy agent to show any survival benefit (docetaxel) was approved as late as 2004.

It should be stated that the majority of men diagnosed with PC have a relatively non aggressive form of it, they are either "cured" of it or live with it for many years. Things can become much more serious if it is or becomes metastatic and/or hormone refractory hence the need for the new agents above.

Condo131

Thanks for that!

As you say, the vast majority of men diagnosed with Prostate Cancer will have an either indolent or slow-growing form - these men will die from some other cause, rather than because of Prostate Cancer.

Unfortunately a very small proportion of men, particularly younger men (the average age of diagnosis for Prostate Cancer, in Ireland, is 69 years) will develop an aggressive form of Prostate Cancer.

In such cases, Early Diagnosis is Key. If you, or someone you know, has concerns, then please check it out.

The first stop is your GP, and the initial blood test, not too dissimilar to a cholestrol test. Both Nationally and Internationally, there is debate on both the effectiveness of screening and also whether it is wise to test the majority, who will never have an issue with Prostate Cancer, and thus introduce what is often termed 'PSA Anxiety'.

You don't have to have symptoms to have Prostate Cancer - I didn't. If you have a close relative who has been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, particularly your father but even more especially, a brother, you really need to check this out.

BrianD3

This seems like a very good website, loads of detailed information and a realistic take on prostate cancer research (as opposed to hailing early research findings as "breakthroughs" and "cures" for cancer, something that the mainstream media does all the time)
http://prostatecancerinfolink.net/

Good article on hormone refractory and metastatic PC - the progress that has been made, the agents that have been appoved and the others that are in trials, the questions and challenges that remain
http://prostatecancerinfolink.net/2010/07/08/the-long-term-survival-of-patients-with-metastatic-prostate-cancer/

Interesting article that was linked from the website
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15017212

Median survival after hormone refractory prostate cancer developed in patients initially staged with and without skeletal metastasis was 40 and 68 months, respectively.

All of this makes me quite optimistic about the future for prostate cancer. In contrast, everytime I read anything about panceatic or lung cancer, I feel nothing but pessimism.

BrianD3

BrianD3 wrote: »

1 other has recently completed phase III clinical trials with good results.

Abiraterone Acetate Improves Survival In Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/204324.php

Now FDA approved
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm253055.htm

BrianD3

More potential good news today, MDV3100 has showed a 4.8 month median survival benefit compared to placebo in a phase III trial.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/752883

4.8 months may not sound like very much but for a cancer drug it is very good. And as it is a median, some patients may get much more than 4.8 months.

Only downside from my POV is I didn't buy Medivation shares after strongly considering them recently. They're up 140% thanks to this MDV3100 announcement!