A new method to select treatment for advanced prostate cancer

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified blood-based biomarkers that may determine which patients will benefit from continued hormonal therapy for advanced prostate cancer. The results are published in the journal JAMA Oncology. The researchers envision that this discovery may eventually result in a test that contributes to a more personalised treatment of the disease.

Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in Sweden. Approximately one in four will be diagnosed with or progress to metastatic prostate cancer. Initial systemic hormonal treatment works well for most patients with metastatic prostate cancer. But over time, the tumour develops resistance, resulting in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

A continued hormonal treatment for the mCRPC condition with drugs such as Zytiga (abiraterone acetate) and Xtandi (enzalutamide) provides additional clinical benefit, however not all patients respond to these treatments. Thus, in order to avoid unnecessary side effects and pharmaceutical expenses, it is necessary to identify those men who will benefit from the medicines before treatment is started.
Source: A new method to select the right treatment for advanced prostate cancer