Prostate cancer patients improve survival with innovative treatment
3 minutes read
- Treatment with apalutamide showed a 14-month improvement in median overall survival in patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Results presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in May showed that apalutamide combined with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) increased survival by 14 months in patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) at high risk of developing metastases, compared with ADT alone5. These results relate to the final analysis of the phase 3 SPARTAN study of 1,207 patients.
Apalutamide is a drug that blocks the mechanism by which prostate cancer grows, preventing the male hormone from feeding tumour cells. When combined with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), it has been shown to delay the onset of metastases in patients who have already undergone localised treatment and received ADT but still have a rapidly rising PSA (a blood marker indicating the presence of the disease).
Apalutamide, available in the Dominican Republic, has been shown to reduce by 72%[i] the risk of developing metastases (when the disease spreads to other parts of the body) or death in patients with prostate cancer, as well as providing more than 40 months of metastasis-free survival (median), a gain of two years compared with placebo (median of 16.2 months).
“Treatment for patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer basically focuses on delaying metastases and improving overall survival,” explains Eric Small, M.D., FASCO, Professor of Medicine and Chief Scientific Officer of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco, and principal investigator of the SPARTAN study. “The final SPARTAN analysis includes long-term data for each of these treatment endpoints and helps support the early use of apalutamide versus ADT alone.”
During the SPARTAN study, patients’ quality of life was maintained and the adverse events found had no negative impact. The previously presented safety profile was also reaffirmed.
In Central America and the Caribbean, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men, with an estimated more than 20,000 new cases a year. The disease, which usually affects people over 50, occurs when malignant cells form in the tissues of the prostate. Metastasis occurs when these cells spread to other organs, usually bones, lymph nodes, liver or lung.
About Janssen
At Janssen, we’re creating a future where disease is a thing of the past. We’re the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, working tirelessly to make that future a reality for patients everywhere by fighting sickness with science, improving access with ingenuity, and healing hopelessness with heart. We focus on areas of medicine where we can make the biggest difference: oncology and haematology; immunology; neuroscience; infectious diseases and vaccines; pulmonary hypertension; and cardiovascular and metabolism. For more information, visit https://www.janssen.com/centralamericaandthecaribbean/. Follow Janssen LATAM on Facebook.
Ethnor del Istmo, S.A. is one of the Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.
Small E., et al. SPARTAN, a phase 3 double-blind, randomized study of apalutamide (APA) vs placebo (PBO)
in patients (pts) with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC). Abstract #161.
World Cancer Research Fund. Accessed on 17/06/2020. Available at https://www.wcrf.org/dietandcancer/cancer-trends/worldwide-cancer-data and Globocan 2018, Accessed on 17/06/2020. Available at https://gco.iarc.fr/today/home