One of the most insidious cancers for men is that of the prostate. It is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate gland. In Italy last year there were about 36,000 new diagnoses of this pathology. Treatments for this cancer have been developing rapidly in recent years. A recent therapy in addition to the conventional ones has given excellent experimental results. This revolutionary drug promises to dramatically reduce prostate cancer mortality. Let’s see what it is.
Among prostate cancers, the most dangerous is castration-resistant prostate cancer. This tumor is resistant to conventional therapies with hormone treatments that reduce testosterone levels. When metastasized, the patient has a 30% 5-year survival. To understand medical advances in this field, only 10 years ago those with this cancer could hope to live no longer than 6 months. Today, a new drug can further lower the risk of death and increase the chances of stopping the disease.
This revolutionary drug promises to dramatically reduce prostate cancer mortality
At the congress of the ASCO, American Society of Clinical Oncology, a revolutionary drug was presented, for its results and how it works. The new drug has a very difficult name to remember, 177Lu-PSMA-617. PSMA is a biomarker that researchers have identified in 80% of prostate cancers.
The amazing thing about this drug is that it is not a common medicine in liquid or solid form, but it is a radiopharmaceutical. Its exceptionality is to intervene only in the diseased tissues, sparing the healthy ones. Therefore 177Lu-PSMA-617 is a precision drug that acts selectively on the diseased parts of the prostate.
The other exceptionality of this new radiotherapy is the result it has achieved so far. This drug resulted in a 38% reduction in mortality over standard of care with conventional methods. Not only that, the use of 177Lu-PSMA-617 reduced the risk of disease progression by 60%.
Currently the therapy is not available in Italy, but the Ministry of Health is expected to authorize its use by the end of 2021.
Deepening
For women comes great news in the fight against breast cancer
(We remind you to carefully read the warnings regarding this article, which can be consulted who”)