New Drug Combination Shows Promise in Delaying Advanced Prostate Cancer Progression
LONDON – A new combination therapy featuring the drug niraparib has demonstrated significant benefits in delaying the progression of advanced cancer-thoughts/” title=”Glutamine: The Surprising Link to Prostate … -thoughts?”>prostate cancer, particularly in patients with alterations in homologous recombination repair (HRR) genes, according to results from the Phase 3 AMPLITUDE trial published in Nature Medicine. The findings, announced by University College London (UCL) researchers, suggest a potential new standard of care for a subset of men whose disease rapidly recurs despite conventional treatments.
Currently, standard treatments are effective for most patients with advanced prostate cancer, but a notable proportion experience limited benefit. The study revealed that adding niraparib to abiraterone acetate plus prednisone delayed cancer progression by 34% in all patients and by 48% in those with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.
Researchers also found the time until symptoms worsened was doubled for patients receiving niraparib compared to placebo, reducing symptomatic worsening from 34% to 16%. A trend toward improved overall survival was observed, though longer follow-up is needed to confirm a life expectancy benefit.
“We now know that prostate cancers with alterations in HRR genes account for a significant group of patients whose disease recurs quickly and has an aggressive course,” explained Professor Gerhardt Attard of the UCL Cancer Institute. “By combining with niraparib we can delay the cancer returning and hopefully considerably prolonging life expectancy.”
while generally well-tolerated, niraparib was associated with more side effects, including increased instances of anaemia and high blood pressure. 25% of patients required blood transfusions, and treatment-related deaths were higher in the niraparib group (14 versus 7). Though, overall discontinuation rates remained low.
“These findings are striking because they support widespread genomic testing at diagnosis with use of a targeted treatment for patients who stand to derive the greatest benefit,” attard stated. he recommends doctors consider discussing the risks and benefits of niraparib with patients whose cancers have a mutation in an eligible HRR gene.
Prostate cancer is a global health concern, with approximately 1.5 million men diagnosed annually. in the UK, it is the most common cancer in men, resulting in over 56,000 diagnoses and around 12,000 deaths each year.
The AMPLITUDE trial was sponsored by Janssen Research & Development, part of Johnson & Johnson.