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Prostate cancer – preventing bone complications
Bone metastases are observed in 15% of men suffering from prostate cancer. A study presented at the Conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago has shown the benefits of a treatment based on denosumab – a humanised monoclonal antibody – in preventing the appearance of such metastases.
Professor Karim Fizazi, head of Oncology at the Gustave Roussy Institute (IGR), Villejuif, France, revealed the results. This phase III clinical study, conducted between 2006 and 2008, was based on 1,901 patients suffering from metastatic prostate cancer. Its purpose was to compare denosumab with the current standard treatment which uses zoledronic acid – Aclasta®.
The results appear very encouraging. Compared with the reference treatment, the use of this monoclonal antibody led to an 18% reduction in the risk of metastases. And the delay in their development was also extended: 21 months in patients treated with the monoclonal antibody, compared with an average of 17 months in the other group.
According to the IGR, “Of the 70,000 new cases of prostate cancer diagnosed each year in France, more than 10,000 will show bone metastases. “In these patients, this form of the disease is responsible for the destruction and manufacture of anarchic bone tissue, leading to bone complications”. This generally includes severe bone pain requiring the use of analgesic radiotherapy and fractures or compressions of the spinal cord with serious neurological complications. Denosumab – the subject of this trial – has just received marketing authorisation from the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis under the name Prolia®.
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