For
research on Abiraterone carried out out by members of our Edinburgh
Group click here
For
a direct link to the BBC web page on Abiraterone click here -
(while it lasts)
For
an extract from the BBC web page read on:
Drug
for deadly prostate cancer
By Richard Warry Health
editor, BBC News website
Scientists are hailing a new drug to treat aggressive prostate
cancer as potentially the most significant advance in the field
for 70 years.
Abiraterone could potentially treat up to 80% of patients with
a deadly form of the disease resistant to currently available
chemotherapy, they say.
The drug works by blocking the hormones which fuel the cancer.
The Institute of Cancer Research hopes a simple pill form will
be available in two to three years.An advanced clinical trial
involving 1,200 patients around the world is currently under way,
with more trials likely later this year.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men.
It is estimated that up to 10,000 men a year in the UK are diagnosed
with the most aggressive - and almost always lethal - form of
prostate cancer.
Typical life expectancy following chemotherapy is no more than
18 months.
It had been assumed that the cancer was driven by sex hormones
such as testosterone produced in the testicles.
Current treatments work by stopping the testicles from producing
testosterone.
New action
However, experts have now discovered that the cancer can feed
on sex hormones from all sources, including supplies of the hormone
produced by the tumour itself. Abiraterone works by blocking production
of the hormones throughout the body.
The latest study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,
is based on just 21 patients with advanced, aggressive prostate
cancer treated with the drug - but data has been collected on
a total of 250 worldwide.
It found significant tumour shrinkage, and a drop in tell-tale
levels of a key protein produced by the cancer called prostate
specific antigen in the majority of patients.
Many of the patients have reported a significant improvement in
the quality of their lives.
Some were able to stop taking morphine for the relief of pain
caused by the spread of the disease to their bones.
Real hope
Lead researcher Dr Johann de Bono said the findings needed to
be confirmed in larger trials.
At this stage, no patient has taken the drug for longer than two-and-a-half
years, and so it has not been possible to determine exactly what
the effect of the drug on life expectancy will be.
But he said: "We believe we have made a major step forward
in the treatment of end-stage prostate cancer patients.
"These men have very aggressive prostate cancer which is
exceptionally difficult to treat and almost always proves to be
fatal.
"We hope that abiraterone will eventually offer them real
hope of an effective way of managing their condition and prolonging
their lives."
It is hoped the drug will also aid other cancer patients, including
those with breast cancer.
Professor David Webb, an expert in clinical pharmacology at the
University of Edinburgh, said: "This agent clearly looks
promising, but it is still at the early stages of clinical development.
"It will
be crucial to look carefully at the balance between its benefits
and harms, before drawing firm conclusions about the usefulness
of this new drug.
"Important side effects often only emerge with the larger
clinical studies that now need to be done."
John Neate, of The Prostate Cancer Charity, said: "This is
an exciting development which has been eagerly anticipated."
NOTE:
This drug is NOT currently available to prostate cancer patients
residing in Scotland. It has been said that a clinical trial is
planned to start a trial in August 2008 at the Beatson Oncology
Centre, Gartnavel General Hospital, Glasgow.
Cougar Biotechnology, who in-license and develop clinical stage
drugs, are enrolling patients in its Phase III clinical trials
of Abiraterone. See their Press Release
from 25th October 2007
To
see the complexity of research into Metabolic Pathways of Hormones
involved in Prostate Cancer - click
on this link.
