Prostate cancer patients given hope by new 'triple-whammy' drug

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/apr/01/prostate-cancer-new-drug-galeterone

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A new drug that tackles advanced prostate cancer in three different ways has passed its first hurdle towards being approved.

Scientists reported promising early trial results using galeterone, which is designed to treat cancer that no longer responds to hormone therapy. However, researchers counselled caution as tests on the "triple whammy" drug have been carried out on only a small number of patients.

In their tests, scientists based at Harvard University reported that galeterone reduced levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA), a prostate cancer blood marker, by 30% or more in about half of patients. Eleven patients had PSA reductions of 50% or more, and in some there was significant shrinkage in tumour size.

A total of 49 patients took part in the phase one study, which primarily looked at safety and dosing levels. All had "refractory" or "castration resistant" cancer that had ceased to respond to hormone therapy. Currently there is little doctors can do to help prostate cancer patients who progress to this stage.

Galeterone works in three ways: by blocking "receptor" proteins that respond to testosterone; by reducing the number of receptors in tumours; and by targeting an enzyme that is linked to hormone pathways involved in the cancer. Trial leader Dr Mary-Ellen Taplin described the galeterone study as "exciting for those of us in the medical community treating this life-threatening cancer".

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Chicago. A larger phase two trial, focusing on the drug's effectiveness, is planned later this year.

The results were welcomed by Dr Kate Holmes, head of research at the Prostate Cancer Charity. "This very early stage research, conducted among a small group of men, indicates that galeterone shows potential as a new treatment for men with advanced prostate cancer.

"This new drug is in its infancy and full results have yet to be published, meaning that it is simply too soon to tell whether or not this drug is capable of living up to its early promise.

"Men in the final stages of prostate cancer have very few options available to them and we desperately need to increase the number of effective treatments," she said.

"The researchers have plans to test the drug in a further trial, to fully investigate the full side-effects and safety of treatment. We look forward to reading the full publication of this study in due course, and await with anticipation the results of further trials."