{"id":27456,"date":"2021-09-19T13:05:08","date_gmt":"2021-09-19T13:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/?p=23567"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:14:29","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:14:29","slug":"combining-existing-drugs-improves-prostate-cancer-survival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/combining-existing-drugs-improves-prostate-cancer-survival\/","title":{"rendered":"Combining existing drugs improves prostate cancer survival"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Prostate<\/div>\n

Adding abiraterone to standard hormone therapy improves survival for men with high-risk prostate cancer that\u2019s not spread elsewhere in the body.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s results are the first study of intensified hormone therapy in this group,\u201d Professor Nick James, chief investigator of the STAMPEDE trial<\/p>\n

The latest findings from the STAMPEDE trial, funded by Cancer Research UK and MRC, were presented today at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)<\/a> conference.<\/p>\n

Adding abiraterone improves survival<\/h2>\n

According to ESMO, around 2 in 10 prostate cancers that haven\u2019t spread are considered \u2018high risk\u2019, meaning they\u2019re more likely to grow or spread within a few years. Current treatment for men with this type of prostate cancer is a type of hormone therapy known as androgen deprivation therapy. Some men will also have radiotherapy.<\/p>\n

As part of STAMPEDE, researchers tested if adding additional hormone therapies \u2013 either abiraterone or abiraterone and enzalutamide \u2013 could delay cancer spread and improve for these men.<\/p>\n

\n

Abiraterone<\/h3>\n

Abiraterone<\/a> works in a different way to other hormone therapies, blocking the production of testosterone rather than blocking its effects.<\/p>\n

Cancer Research UK played a vital role in the drug\u2019s development, funding the \u2018first-in-man\u2019 trial that set the scene for its progression through to routine use on the NHS.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

988 men were randomised to receive the current standard of care, while 986 men had standard treatment plus abiraterone for 2 years. Of those in the abiraterone group, 527 men also received enzalutamide.<\/p>\n

After 6 years, 82% of men taking abiraterone hadn\u2019t seen their cancer spread, compared with 69% of those who were having standard treatment.<\/p>\n

Adding abiraterone also improved overall survival, with 86% of men taking abiraterone alive after 6 years, compared with 77% of the men in the control group.<\/p>\n

Professor Gert Attard said the results were excellent news for patients. \u201cThis translates into a very significant improvement in life expectancy for men with high-risk prostate cancer that\u2019s not spread beyond the prostate on conventional imaging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attard noted that more information was needed on the optimal length of abiraterone therapy. \u201cWe did not study different duration of treatment, so administering abiraterone for a shorter time may be equivalent and longer may be even more effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

These are the latest in a string of findings to come out of the STAMPEDE trial, which has been running since 2005.<\/p>\n

\u201cSTAMPEDE is a practice changing trial that continues to make great strides in changing prostate cancer research and treatment. The depth and breadth of the trial has allowed us to examine aspects of care not studied in more focused trials,\u201d said Professor Nick James, a prostate and bladder cancer specialist at the Institute of Cancer Research London and STAMPEDE\u2019s chief investigator.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s results are the first study of intensified hormone therapy in this group. We are in active discussions with NHS England about how these findings can be implemented.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to give something back\u201d<\/h2>\n
\"Ken<\/p>\n

Ken took part in STAMPEDE.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When Ken was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January 2015, it was a complete shock.
He had known for months that something was wrong \u2013 he had been getting up 6 or 7 times a night to go to the toilet. But he wasn\u2019t expecting the doctor to use the word cancer. \u201cIt came as a real blow.\u201d<\/p>\n

His referral to an oncologist changed all that. \u201cThe staff were amazing, I was immediately put at ease and all my fears were allayed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ken was prescribed radiotherapy. And despite being told his cancer was aggressive there was good news \u2013 it hadn\u2019t spread.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest problems when you get a diagnosis like that is the unknown. Cancer is no respecter of age, gender or position and the uncertainty of it all can play havoc with your mind, but the staff at the hospital made it easy for me to cope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Ken was offered the chance to take part in the STAMPEDE trial. He didn\u2019t hesitate and found, at the heart of his treatment, was a group of people who would be with him all the way.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

My treatment would not have happened but for someone before me taking part in a clinical trial, so I just wanted to give something back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI was prescribed hormone treatment in tablet form in order to shrink the tumour, which was replaced with hormone injections after a few weeks.<\/p>\n

Five years down the line, Ken is enjoying life. He continues to be monitored and has been able to have phone consultations every three to six months throughout COVID-19.<\/p>\n

More good news from ESMO<\/h2>\n

Findings from other prostate cancer trials were also presented at ESMO, including the PEACE-1 trial, which tested new combinations of existing treatments for men with prostate cancer that\u2019s spread to other parts of the body.<\/p>\n

Androgen deprivation therapy has been one of the main treatments for prostate cancer that\u2019s spread for decades. In 2015, adding the chemotherapy drug docetaxel to androgen deprivation therapy was shown to improve survival. And in 2017 combining abiraterone with androgen deprivation therapy was also shown to help men live longer.<\/p>\n

But question marks have remained over whether using all 3 would provide extra benefits.<\/p>\n

In results presented at ESMO, PEACE-1 found that using all 3 drugs upfront is better than the 2-drug combo. In men with prostate cancer that\u2019s spread to more sites around the body (high burden) the trio delayed cancer growth by around 2.5 years and prolonged survival for approximately 18 months.<\/p>\n

Study author Professor Karim Fizazi, from the University of Paris-Saclay, said PEACE-1 was the first trial to establish that triplet treatment should be offered to men with the most aggressive cancers. \u201cMoreover, additional side effects with the triplet combination were mostly mild, with very few severe side-effects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fizazi noted that more follow-up is required in men with low-burden disease to assess whether there are any survival benefits.<\/p>\n

More on this topic<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Adding abiraterone to standard hormone therapy improves survival for men with high-risk prostate cancer that\u2019s not spread elsewhere in the body. \u201cToday\u2019s results are the first study of intensified hormone therapy in this group,\u201d Professor Nick James, chief investigator of the STAMPEDE trial The latest findings from the STAMPEDE trial, funded by Cancer Research UK […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27456"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43612,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27456\/revisions\/43612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}