A regular approach to treating aggressive prostate cancer is to manage therapy that blocks testosterone, a tumor-stimulating hormone. If initial hormonal treatments fail, doctors may switch to other drugs that suppress testosterone in other ways. One of them, a drug called abiraterone, significantly prolongs aging in men who've change into proof against other hormonal treatments.
But in June, two large studies concurrently reported that abiraterone prolongs life even in men with newly diagnosed aggressive prostate cancer. One of the studiesA phase 3 clinical trial called LATITUDE enrolled 1,199 men with metastatic prostate cancer, or cancer that had spread to other places within the body. gave the secondCalled STAMPEDE, enrolled 1,917 men, half with metastatic prostate cancer and the opposite half with cancer still confined to the prostate gland. Both studies divided men into two groups: one was treated with a mixture of abiraterone as well as to standard first-line hormonal therapy, and the opposite group was treated with first-line hormonal therapy alone.
After 30 to 40 months of follow-up, each studies showed similar results: combination therapy that included abiraterone reduced the chance of death by about 40 percent. Abiraterone treatment also prolonged the time it took for the cancer to worsen by 14 to fifteen months, delayed the necessity for chemotherapy, increased blood levels of prostate-specific antigen (or PSA, which is secreted by prostate tumors). slowed down, and decreased. Pain
Abiraterone has unintended effects, reminiscent of hypertension and low blood potassium levels that may trigger heart problems. But these effects might be reduced with prednisone, a robust anti-inflammatory agent. Therefore, the Food and Drug Administration requires that abiraterone and prednisone be given together.
