Food and Drug Association Approved Enzalutamide For Treating Prostate Cancer

Food and Drug Association Approved Enzalutamide For Treating Prostate Cancer

Food and Drug Association approved a new treatment for metastatic prostate cancer. Enzalutamide (Xtandi) is an androgen inhibitor that has been shown to increase survival rates of patients with prostate cancer. Because the results of  previous clinical trials were promising, the researchers assessed the efficacy and safety of enzalutamide for the treatment of prostate cancer. The study was conducted on a sample of 1199 patients who were randomly divided to receive either enzalutamide or placebo. Study results showed that patients treated with enzalutamide had an overall  survival of 18.4 months, unlike the others who had an overall survival of 13.6 months. The study included patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer who were previously treated with docetaxel.

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Patients who had stroke, seizures, brain metastasis, were excluded from the study. Enzalutamide has some precautions. One of these precautions is the risk of seizures. 0.9% of patients who had received enzalutamide experienced a seizure. In all patients in whom these side effects occurred the treatment was discontinued. Other adverse events reported were fatigue, back pain, joint pain, headache, dizziness, muscle weakness, and others.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men and the second leading cause of death from cancer after lung cancer. The risk of developing prostate cancer increases with age, but there are other factors incriminated in the occurrence of this cancer. Hormonal factors, hereditary factors and environmental factors seem to be involved in prostate cancer development. Also, it seems that this cancer is more common in Afro-American men. Sexually transmitted infections are also a risk factor for prostate cancer. Men who had sexually transmitted infections are 1.4 times higher risk of prostate cancer. Other factors include obesity and smoking. The only way to prevent prostate cancer is early detection. Although controversial, some recommend screening for prostate cancer in all men after age 40. Screening for prostate cancer consists of rectal examination and PSA (prostate specific antigen) measurement.

Hormonal factors seem to play a role in prostate cancer. It seems that testosterone, the male hormone, helps growth and proliferation of tumor cells. Testosterone is produced by the testes under the influence of LH-RH (luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone). Consequently, scientists have thought that the testosterone receptors are a good target for cancer therapy. In other words, it is a castration because the action of testosterone in the body is blocked. Many treatments have been tried to block androgen signaling pathway, but there are tumors that become resistant to hormone therapy. Therefore, approval of a new dug to prolong survival is a new hope for patients with metastatic prostate cancer.