Good news for patients with metastatic prostate cancer. The FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) has approved Johnson & Johnson’s Zytiga (abiraterone) in combination with prednisone to treat patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have received prior chemotherapy.
Abiraterone blocks the formation of testosterone by inhibiting an enzyme called CYP17A1. This enzyme is involved in the formation of steroid hormones (DHEA and androstenedione), which may ultimately be metabolized into testosterone.
In a clinical trial involving 1195 patients with late-stage prostate cancer, patients who received abiraterone once daily in combination with prednisone two times a day had a median overall survival of 14.8 months, compared to 10.9 months among patients receiving a placebo and prednisone combination.
Other drugs that have recently been approved by FDA for the treatment of hormonal refractory prostate cancer include cabazitaxel (Jevtana) and Sipuleucel-T ( Provenge). Sipuleucel-T was approved April, 2010 and cabazitaxel was approved in June, 2010.
Source: http://www.fda.gov
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