Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
    • Podcast
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Mixed Results from Prostate Cancer Drug
Clinical Breakthroughs

Mixed Results from Prostate Cancer Drug

By Will DossMay 31, 2022
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
Maha Hussain, MD, the Genevieve E. Teuton Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, was a co-author of the study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

A new androgen biosynthesis inhibitor drug improved progression-free survival in prostate cancer but did not improve overall survival compared to current therapies, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

The findings are a testament to how far prostate cancer treatment has come, according to Maha Hussain, MD, the Genevieve E. Teuton Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and a co-author of the study.

“We have entered a new era where metastatic hormone sensitive and castration resistant prostate cancer patients are living much longer as a result of several life-prolonging therapies,” said Hussain, who is also deputy director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. “This is clearly a major progress in the field compared to 10 years ago.”

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer mortality among men in the United States. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), which reduces levels of androgen hormones upon which prostate cancer relies, has been the mainstay of care for more than 60 years.

In the current trial, patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer were assigned to a control group — receiving ADT with bicalutamide — or to the experimental group — receiving ADT with orteronel, an androgen biosynthesis inhibitor. Orteronel decreases circulating levels of testosterone and was theorized to improve efficacy of ADT by extending the period of androgen sensitivity.

Nearly 1,300 patients were enrolled in the trial with a median age of 68 years. Median follow-up was 4.9 years.

Patients receiving orteronel experienced a significant improvement in median progression-free survival (PFS); 47 months in the experimental group versus 23 months in the control group. However, overall median survival was not significantly different between the two treatment arms.

The positive PFS results indicate that orteronel could be a useful combination therapy alongside ADT, but the inconclusive findings regarding overall survival may reflect availability of several life-prolonging treatments for men with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer, according to Hussain.

Advanced prostate cancer treatments and patient survival have significantly improved during the last decade, so searching for differences in overall survival in the context of more life-prolonging treatments alongside ADT may be too high of a bar for an endpoint, Hussain said.

“Future trials in this disease setting will need to incorporate intermediate end points to get a faster read on efficacy,” Hussain said.

This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health grants U10CA180888, U10CA180819, U10CA180820 and U10CA180821, and in part by Millennium Pharmaceuticals.

Cancer Medicine Research
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Epigenetic Biomarkers Predict CVD Risk

Jun 28, 2022

Hospitals Bound to Patient Safety Rules that Aren’t all Backed by Evidence

Jun 24, 2022

Identifying Protein Interactions that Promote Cancer Growth

Jun 24, 2022

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Epigenetic Biomarkers Predict CVD Risk

Jun 28, 2022

Student Spearheads Ukraine Aid Efforts

Jun 27, 2022

Hospitals Bound to Patient Safety Rules that Aren’t all Backed by Evidence

Jun 24, 2022

Identifying Protein Interactions that Promote Cancer Growth

Jun 24, 2022

Combination Treatment May Improve Quality of Life in Kidney Cancer

Jun 23, 2022
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
pride7
pride6
pride5
pride4
pride3
pride2
pride1
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0070
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0066
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0054
Northwestern University 2022. Photo by Jim Prisching
20220607_Feinberg Campus_0077

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2022 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.