FDA approves new drug for men at high risk of prostate cancer spread

A newly approved drug called apalutamide is giving hope to thousands of men confronting a tenacious problem after being treated for prostate cancer. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels should plummet to zero after surgery, and to near zero after radiation therapy, but in some men, they continue rising even when there’s no other evidence of cancer in the body. Doctors typically respond to spiking PSA with drugs that block the production of testosterone, which is the male sex hormone that fuels prostate cancer. However, this type of medically induced castration, called hormonal therapy, doesn’t always reduce PSA. Moreover, prostate cancer cells can become resistant to hormonal therapy, after which PSA resumes its upward march. This is called non-metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC), and it often precedes the appearance of metastatic tumors that show up later. The dearth of approved treatments for nmCRPC has long frustrated patients and their doctors alike. But in February, the US Food and Drug Administration approved apalutamide for men who have nmCRPC after results from the SPARTAN clinical trial showed the drug could delay metastases by up to two years. “Based on these clinical trial results, apalutamide should be considered the new standard of care for nmCRPC,” said Dr. Matthew Smith, a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who led the study. “The drug addresses a great clinical need and holds the promise of longer survival for...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Cancer Health Men's Health Prostate Health Source Type: blogs