Medicine to reduce advanced prostate cancer

2012/12/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza

A hormone-based medicine (enzalutamide) has managed to reduce advanced prostate cancer by 37% and improve the quality of life of patients. The clinical program has been led by the Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer Center in New York: Hospitals from 15 countries and 1,199 patients have participated, among others, in the University Clinic of Navarra. Enzalutamide hormone treatment is done orally and is less toxic than chemotherapy. The session was attended by patients with resistant metastatic prostate cancer (in this case the cancer continues to develop although testosterone remains at very low levels) and with previous chemotherapy treatment. The oncologist of the University Clinic of Navarra, Ignacio Gil Bazo, said that "in view of the spectacular results, the clinical trial was suspended before the deadline and patients who were taking the placebo were allowed to take enzalutamide." The work has been published in the journal The New England Journal of Medicine.