Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Good News for Men with Late Stage Prostate Cancer


An experimental drug—MDV3100—that has been in trials for several years has shown very positive results. There has been a significant survival benefit demonstrated in phase III studies. Nearly 1200 men who had undergone late stage chemotherapy participated in the double blind study—nobody knew who was getting the experimental drug and who was getting the placebo (neutral substance).

The principal investigator said that the MDV3100 study ‘exceeded our expectations’. Men taking the experimental drug lived significantly longer, had lower PSA scores, and the side effects were ‘well tolerated’ or what we’d call not so bad. Just about all cancer medications have side effects so a successful drug with moderate side effects is considered good. The trial was so successful it was stopped early and those men who were receiving the placebo were offered the MDV3100.

It has to be approved by the FDA before it can be prescribed by doctors. Many drugs never make it through the clinical trials process so this is seen as very important.

If you have prostate cancer, watch for further news. By the time it is approved it will likely have a new (and better) name.

axman


1 comment:

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