Drug offers hope for prostate cancer treatment
Trial results reported by Janssen were so promising that applications will now be made to market the drug worldwide. It means the drug, abiraterone acetate, could soon provide a new lifeline for men with advanced prostate cancer.
A Phase III trial – the last hurdle before a drug reaches the market – was halted early on ethical grounds when it became clear that patients treated with the pill were doing far better than those given a placebo “dummy” drug.
Risk of death was reduced by 35% in men receiving abiraterone, while survival was increased by 36% from a midpoint of 10.9 to 14.8 months.
In practice, the lives of some patients could be prolonged significantly.
Study leader Dr Johan de Bono, from the Institute of Cancer Research based in London and Surrey, said: “This is extremely exciting because men with this aggressive type of prostate cancer currently have very few treatment options and a poor prognosis.
“Around one man in the UK dies every hour from this disease, so the news that abiraterone acetate may extend survival with manageable side-effects will be incredibly important to men with prostate cancer and their families.”
Results from the trial were presented yesterday at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Milan, Italy.
A total of 1,195 patients from 13 countries took part in the study, with ages ranging from 40 to 75. All had advanced prostate cancer which had spread and was still progressing, despite hormone and chemotherapy treatments.
Patients were treated with a low dose of steroid drugs plus either abiraterone or a placebo.
Abiraterone acetate was developed by British scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research.
The drug works in a unique way by shutting off a tumour’s ability to generate its own supply of testosterone. The male hormone is known to fuel prostate cancer.
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