Men diagnosed with prostate cancer could benefit from a new treatment strategy that does a much better job of treating the disease and slowing its spread.
The news was presented recently to the American Society of Clinical Oncology and is based on what was believed to be the “biggest cancer treatment trial in the world,” according to the Independent in London.
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Cancer Research UK tested the new drug regimen on 1,900 patients. Half received standard hormone treatment (known as androgen-deprivation therapy) while the other half received hormone treatment plus the drug abiraterone.
The drug traditionally has been given when men stopped responding to hormone treatment. The study found that giving the drug much earlier – and in addition to hormone therapy – offered considerably more benefits.
Specifically, the combination of treatments reduced the risk of dying over three years by 37 percent compared with men just on hormone therapy. It lowered the chance of further spread by 71 percent.
This is the kind of great news that cancer warriors of all kinds love to hear! Researchers say it has the chance to transform treatment for prostate cancer.
“These are the most powerful results I’ve seen from a prostate cancer trial – it’s a once-in-a-career feeling,” said University of Birmingham (England) Professor Nicholas James, who was the chief investigator in the trial. “This is one of the biggest reductions in death I’ve seen in any clinical trial for adult cancers.”