Experimental drug for advanced prostate cancer shows promise

London, April 15 (ANI): A new study suggests that an experimental drug could be a weapon for doctors in the battle against an aggressive form of advanced prostate cancer.

The research, led by investigators at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, has concluded that the targeted therapy MDV3100 is safe and effective for patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), known for its poor prognosis and limited treatment options.

According to the findings of the Phase 1-2 study, MDV3100 not only shrank patients' tumours, but also reduced serum levels of the tumour marker prostate-specific antigen (PSA), stabilized disease that had spread to soft tissues and the bone, and reduced the number of circulating tumour cells in the blood.

"We were encouraged to see anti-tumour activity in men whose disease had spread to other parts of the body after either becoming resistant to previous hormone treatments or progressing following chemotherapy," said the study's lead author Howard Scher, Chief of the Genitourinary Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering.

"These findings strengthen the drug's potential to change the outlook for a group of patients who currently have limited effective treatment options from which to choose," Scher added.

The study appears early online and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet. (ANI)