
"Health wise I am feeling great. I am a big supporter of trials - it allows new treatments and drugs to be brought in.”
This trial looked at a drug called enzalutamide (pronounced en-za-loo-ta-mide) for prostate cancer. The trial was for men who had prostate cancer that had spread to other parts of the body and was getting worse despite hormone therapy. It was for men who had not already had chemotherapy for prostate cancer. Enzalutamide is also called MDV3100.
Prostate cancer depends on the male hormone for its growth. Doctors use different types of hormone therapy either to reduce the amount of testosterone in the body, or to stop it reaching and acting on the cancer cells. This can shrink a prostate cancer or slow its growth.
Hormone therapy usually works well, but after a while prostate cancer may stop responding. Doctors are looking for new treatments to help men in this situation. In this trial, they looked at a new hormone therapy drug called enzalutamide.
Prostate cancer cells have that testosterone attaches to. Enzalutamide blocks these receptors and so blocks the activity of the hormone. It is called an ‘androgen-receptor antagonist’.
The aims of this trial were to
The trial team found that enzalutamide did help men with prostate cancer that had spread and was getting worse despite other hormone therapy.
This was a randomised trial. The 1,717 men who took part were put into 1 of 2 treatment groups. Neither they nor their doctor could choose which group they were in. The men and their doctor also didn’t know which group they were in. This is called a double blind trial.
A year after treatment the researchers looked at how many men had no sign of their cancer getting worse. They found that
After an average follow up of just under 2 years, the team looked at how many men were still alive. They found that
The most common reported side effects of enzalutamide were
The trial also found that for the men who had enzalutamide, there was an average delay of 17 months before they needed to have chemotherapy.
The trial team concluded that enzalutamide
We have based this summary on information from the team who ran the trial. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists () and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team. We have not analysed the data ourselves.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Professor Johann de Bono
Astellas
Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC)
Medivation
Freephone 0808 800 4040
"Health wise I am feeling great. I am a big supporter of trials - it allows new treatments and drugs to be brought in.”