Prostate cancer drug proven beneficial if taken before chemotherapy
Prostate cancer drug proven beneficial if taken before chemotherapy
5 Feb 2015Pioneering prostate cancer drug abiraterone significantly extends the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer, if given before chemotherapy. This is based on the results of two major phase 3 clinical trials.
The results of the 1st study, published in Lancet Oncology, showed that men with advanced, aggressive prostate cancer lived more than 4 months longer on average if they received abiraterone before chemotherapy. The trial, led in the UK by Professor Johann de Bono of the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, could fill an important gap in previous evidence for abiraterone’s effectiveness before chemotherapy.
The results of 2nd study, led in the UK by researchers at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The Royal Marsden were published in Clinical Cancer Research. They showed that it is possible to identify a subgroup of men with very aggressive prostate cancer who may benefit particularly strikingly from abiraterone before chemotherapy. These two clinical studies were funded by the manufacturer of abiraterone, Janssen.
Clinical details of the two studies
In the 1st new study, the average survival of 354 men given abiraterone before moving on to chemotherapy was compared with 387 men who received a placebo instead. Both groups also received low-dose prednisolone, a treatment used alongside abiraterone.
The results of the first study showed:
- That men who received abiraterone lived significantly longer than those who did not.
- A favorable safety profile of abiraterone, with relatively few patients experiencing severe side-effects.
In the 2nd new study, the researchers cross-referenced data on how well 348 men on the trial responded to either abiraterone or a placebo (as defined by a halt in the progress in their cancer) with a detailed genetic analysis of their tumors.
According to this study's findings,
- 15% of the men studied responded particularly well.
- Abiraterone increased life expectancy to an average of 22 months with no disease progression, compared with 5.4 months for men with the same ERG status who received a placebo.
- A subgroup of patients with a very aggressive form of prostate cancer may benefit the most from treatment with abiraterone.
“Patients with a very bad outlook respond best of all”
As stated by Johann de Bono, professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine at The Institute of Cancer Research, in London and Honorary Consultant at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust: “These 2 new studies shown definitively that the drug extends life if taken before chemotherapy, by an average of around 4 months. Moreover, the 2nd study shows that men with a particular type of genetic mutation in their tumor respond particularly well to abiraterone, and importantly that a subset of patients with a very bad outlook respond best of all. Those results could help provide a rationale for using abiraterone as early as possible in men with these mutations."
Source: eCancer News