Men whose prostate cancer returns after surgery or radiation therapy may now benefit from a new drug combination shown in clinical trials to cut the risk of death by more than 40%.
All the patients were diagnosed with what is known as high-risk biochemically recurrent prostate cancer.
These latest results, he said, are likely to strengthen the network’s recommendation and solidify this drug combination as the standard of care for patients with high-risk biochemically recurrent prostate cancer.
“These important findings identify a treatment that prolongs survival in men with aggressive prostate cancer,” said Hyung Kim, MD, a urologic oncologist and chair of the Department of Urology at Cedars-Sinai.
“The latest analysis complements previous studies that found enzalutamide significantly improved survival in other prostate cancer settings, and will change how we take care of our patients.”
Clinical trials have demonstrated that a new drug combination can reduce the risk of death for men whose prostate cancer returns after surgery or radiation therapy by over 40%.
In patients with recurrent prostate cancer who have had surgery or radiation and for whom other treatments are no longer an option, the combination therapy, which combines a medication called enzalutamide with hormone therapy, decreased deaths.
At the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress (ESMO) in October, the trial results were presented concurrently with their publication in The New England Journal of Medicine. 19 in Berlin.
According to Stephen Freedland, MD, director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer’s Center for Integrated Research in Cancer and Lifestyle and co-principal investigator of the study, “some patients see their prostate cancer come back in an aggressive way after initial treatment and are at risk for their disease to spread quickly.”.
“Neither hormone therapy nor anything else has increased survival, despite the fact that we have been providing it to patients for 30 years. As a result, these discoveries are truly revolutionary. “,”.
The study comprised 244 sites across 17 countries with over 1,000 patients. A diagnosis of high-risk biochemically recurrent prostate cancer was made for each patient.
The patients’ blood levels of prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, had increased significantly after their surgery or radiation treatment. A quick increase in PSA levels following treatment suggests that a patient’s cancer is likely to return and spread, frequently to the bones or spine. PSA is a protein that is used to detect prostate cancer.
The Warschaw, Robertson, Law Families Chair in Prostate Cancer and urology professor Freedland stated, “We know these patients are at high risk of developing metastatic disease and dying of their cancer unless we offer a meaningful treatment option.”.
Randomly chosen patients were given either enzalutamide alone, standard hormone therapy alone, or both. According to Freedland, the combination group’s risk of dying after eight years was 40.3% lower than that of the other two groups.
“Our physician-scientists are doing translational work,” said Robert Figlin, MD, interim director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer. “This clinical trial is one of many that Cedars-Sinai Cancer has offered to its patients.”. As a result, patients worldwide will receive better care and experience better results. “..”.
“Enzalutamide is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and listed in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network treatment guidelines,” Freedland said, citing the team’s prior findings.
According to him, the network’s recommendation and the standard of care for patients with high-risk biochemically recurrent prostate cancer are likely to be strengthened by these recent findings.
The chair of Cedars-Sinai’s Department of Urology and urologic oncologist Hyung Kim, MD, stated, “These significant findings identify a treatment that prolongs survival in men with aggressive prostate cancer.”.
“The most recent analysis will alter the way we treat our patients and supports earlier research that showed enzalutamide dramatically increased survival in other prostate cancer settings. “.
