Has an effective treatment finally been found to cure prostate cancer? It is with this objective in mind that researchers at Cedars-Sinai Cancer in Los Angeles launched a long-term trial – eight years – on more than 1,000 patients. By combining several existing drugs, they managed to reduce the risk of death from prostate cancer by 40.3%, indicates New Atlas.
Encouraging news according to Stephen Freedland, urologist and co-lead author of the study, because cases of relapse are numerous for this type of cancer: “After an initial successful treatment, some patients see their prostate cancer return aggressively and are at risk of their disease spreading rapidly.”
Nearly 40% of men who undergo radiotherapy or surgery for prostate cancer see their disease return. In this case, the treatment already carried out initially is less likely to work effectively.
“This study will change the way we care for our patients”
The 1,000 participants from seventeen different countries were separated into three groups. The first took enzalutamide, and the second took leuprolide. These two drugs are already prescribed for cases of prostate cancer when used alone. A third group took the two drugs combined.
If the drugs taken separately did not show a significant effect on improving survival rates, their combination made it possible to reduce the risk of death by 40.3% after an average follow-up of eight years.
Both drugs are already approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Based on the results of this study, their combined use could therefore easily be authorized.
“These results identify a treatment that prolongs survival in men with aggressive prostate cancer”said enthusiastic Hyung Kim, urologic oncologist and chair of the Department of Urology at Cedars-Sinai. He continues: “This study complements previous ones that showed that enzalutamide significantly improved the chance of survival, and it will change the way we care for our patients.”
