Prostate cancer is a deadly condition, even though new effective treatments are emerging. It is actually the second most common cancer in men worldwide and the incidence rate of this disease is around 1.1-1.5 per 1000 men every year.
Now scientists at UCL found that a new prostate cancer drug abiraterone could halve risk of prostate cancer death for some patients.
Micrograph of typical ductal adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Image credit: Edgar Linden-Castro, Marcela Pelayo-Nieto, Alejandro Alias-Melgar, Daniel Espinosa-Perezgrovas, Ivan Ramirez-Galindo, and Gabriel Catalan-Quinto via Wikimedia (CC BY 3.0)
Abiraterone is already being used to treat patients with advanced prostate cancer which has spread to other parts of the body. It is often prescribed to men who are not responding to the standard hormone treatment anymore. In other words, abiraterone is usually administered in more advanced cases of prostate cancer, which leaves scientists wondering whether patients in earlier stages of the disease could benefit from this drug. And that is why scientists invited 1,974 patients to participate in this trial.
988 participants in this studš were administered the current standard treatment, while 986 patients were given the standard treatment combined with abiraterone. Half of the second group also received enzalutamide, which is another hormone therapy. Six years of observations showed that the trial group saw improvements in survival rates and reductions in the cancer spreading risk. In fact, only 7 % of people receiving abiraterone died from prostate cancer, while in the control group this number was 15 %. Scientists did not see benefits of combining abiraterone with enzalutamide – it actually increased the chances of adverse side effects. It is very important that abiraterone can reduce the chances of cancer spreading, because out of more than 52 thousand new patients of prostate cancer in the UK 22 thousand patients are considered at “high-risk” of their cancer spreading.
Currently, abiraterone is only given to patients with very advanced prostate cancer and this study shows that patients of less advanced cases could benefit from this therapy as well. Nick James, co-leader of the study, said: “Our latest findings are the first to show the drug can also benefit men whose cancer is at an earlier stage – improving survival and reducing the chance of progression.” Scientists are now hoping to change the treatment guidelines to bring the benefits of abiraterone to as many prostate cancer patients as possible. It is important to stop cancer in its tracks before it has an opportunity to spread.
Prostate cancer kills tens of thousands of people every year. Although our treatment methods are improving, we still have a long way to go to see prostate cancer becoming less of a problem. And if you’re a man, get checked regularly – early diagnosis is still the best way to effective treatment.
Source: UCL