New prostate cancer therapy can delay the treatment of hormones, discovers the study

A new processing strategy tested by UCLA researchers could offer new hope to men whose prostate cancer returned after initial treatment.

This approach could also help delay the need for hormone therapy, which can have heavy side effects.

The results, which were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation ONCOLOGY (ASTRO) this week, have shown that the combination of a targeted radioactive drug with standard radiotherapy has more than doubled while patients remained free from progression of the disease.

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The study focused on men with a form of cancer recurrence where the disease had only returned to some isolated places. Traditionally, this has been treated with a type of focused radiation called stereotaxic radiotherapy, a very precise type of radiotherapy used to treat body tumors.

The UCLA team wanted to determine whether the addition of Radioligand therapy targeted by the PSMA, a radioactive drug in which zeros on cancer cells, would be more effective, according to a press release.

The study focused on men with a form of cancer recurrence where the disease had only returned to some isolated places. (istock)

The researchers scored 92 men with recurring prostate cancer in the test. Half received the radiation alone, while the other half received the new drug plus radiation.

The men who received the two treatments remained without cancer for a median of almost 18 months, against about seven months for those who obtained radiation alone.

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“This is the first randomized trial to show that the radioligand targeting the PSMA can considerably delay the progression when added to the radiation directed by metastases,” Amar Kishan, executive vice-president of the ICLA oncology and the main author of the study, told Dr. Amar Kishan.

According to the main researcher, one of the greatest advantages is the potential of patients to delay the starting hormone therapy. (istock)

Kishan described the work of “excellent example of real collaboration between oncology and nuclear medicine”.

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According to Kishan, one of the greatest advantages is the potential of patients to delay the starting hormone therapy. Although it is a next current step, it often brings side effects such as fatigue, bone loss and mood changes.

“It gives patients more time before needing hormone therapy,” Kishan said. “Avoid or delay hormonal therapy constantly benefits the quality of life.”

“This is the first randomized trial to show that the radioligand targeting the PSMA can considerably delay progression when added to the radiation led by metastases,” said the principal researcher. (istock)

Despite the improvements, cancer has finally returned to many patients.

“There is always room for improvement,” said Kishan. “There were still progression events … So there can be ways to further optimize treatment.”

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The new drug, called 177Lu-Pnt2002, is not yet approved by the FDA for use at this stage of the disease.

For the moment, Kishan recommends that men who suffer a spread of their prostate cancer in areas outside the prostate “are looking for a consultation with a radio-oncologist to explore the options”.