Bicalutamide reduces risk of death in prostate cancer
Treating men with locally advanced prostate cancer with bicalutamide (Casodex) plus radiotherapy reduces the risk of death by more than one-third compared with radiotherapy alone, according to new results from the Early Prostate Cancer Trial, presented at ECCO.
The study randomised 8,113 patients with locally advanced disease to
bicalutamide (150mg daily) or placebo, in addition to standard care,
including radiotherapy or radical prostatectomy. Follow-up for a median
of 7.4 years found that men with locally advanced disease treated with
bicalutamide, an oral, non-steroidal antiandrogen, demonstrated a 35
per cent reduction in risk of death, compared with patients treated with
radiotherapy alone (hazard ratio 0.65; P=0.03), in addition to a 31 per
cent lower risk of disease progression. They also showed a trend to improved
survival (hazard ratio 0.81; P=0.06).
Patients with localised prostate cancer, in which cancer is confined
within the prostate gland, showed no additional benefit in overall survival
or progression-free survival with bicalutamide compared with standard
care.
Reporting the results, Peter Iversen, associate professor of urology,
University of Copenhagen, said: “The findings clarify the role
for early antiandrogen therapy — patients with locally advanced
disease benefited significantly from treatment while those with localised
disease, who showed good survival anyway, did not seem to gain additional
benefit.” |
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Pharmaceutical Journal
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