New Drug for Advanced Prostate Cancer Gets Fast-Tracked by FDA; What You Need to Know About This Treatment

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This is promising news for people fighting prostate cancer. Men diagnosed with a deadlier form of the disease, which has spread to other parts of their body, did not benefit from other existing treatments on average but survived longer while being treated with this new drug.

In clinical trial data released earlier this month, it showed that men treated with Lu-PSMA-617 survived, on average, four months longer than those who received standard care. This data offers so much hope for people battling prostate cancer. 200 men took part in the clinical trial, and the median age of participants was 72 years old.

Screening for Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is detected via prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, which looks for signs of PSA in the blood which may indicate the presence of prostate cancer.

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In an earlier interview, urologic oncologist Dr. James Brooks explains when men should start screening for this disease. He says, “Current guidelines are to start screening at age 55 and continue screening through age 70. The reason for that is prostate cancer diagnosed after age 70 has a reasonably low probability it’s going to take your life because prostate cancer, even in its aggressive forms, when it’s localized is a relatively slow-growing cancer.”

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“Men who are at high risk because of a family history should have PSA testing earlier,” he says. “At latest, age 40, but probably even by age 35, they should have an initial PSA. That PSA test at a younger age, it’s a more accurate test because the prostate has not increased in size, which can cause the test to be more difficult to interpret.”

The PSA Blood Test and a Rectal Exam are Vital for Prostate Cancer Screening

Prostate Cancer Treatment Methods

Prostate cancer treatments include surgery, radiation therapy, or hormone therapy. Depending on the stage of the cancer at the time of diagnosis, one treatment path may be better than another.

In an earlier interview, Dr. Stephen Freedland explains the process of prostate cancer surgery. He says, “A lot of times, people are like, look, I just want the tumor out. Just cut it out, and I want to be done. I said, great, surgery’s a good choice for you.”

“It’s typically done through a robotic technique today, at least in the United States,” says Dr. Freedland. “But a lot of patients are still getting open surgery. Depending on the surgeon, it may be two, three, four, five hours– somewhere in that range, usually spend one night in the hospital. You wake up from the surgery with a catheter in your bladder. Once you’re home, it’s really just recovering, gaining your strength back.”

An Overview of Prostate Cancer Surgery

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