A new drug for Prostate cancer is in the making
A new research has found out that a drug used by women battling breast and ovarian cancer may also be helpful in the treatment of prostate cancer.
A clinical trial which is being conducted by researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research and the Marsden Hospital,says that men who had stopped responding to chemotherapy and hormone therapy treatment were selected and given the cancer inhibitor drug Olaparib.
The drug which was considered a wonder drug by researchers was given to women with aggressive ovarian and breast cancer and surprisingly they survived longer than expected while taking the drug,some even lived up to five more years.
The drug gained approval in 2015 for use in ovarian cancer patients in Europe and the U.S.Olaparib works by hindering mutated cancerous cells that are repairing themselves by stopping the supply of a protein called PARP-1,this protein is vital if the damaged D.N.A in the cells need repairs;the drug is then able to cut off the protein source,thereby resulting in the death of the cancerous cells,which now dramatically slows down the time of progress of the disease.
Experts say the result from the first phase of the trial carried out in men in 2014 has been encouraging,about 30% responded well to the drug.
The second phase which experts say will end this year,has seen 88 men with the advanced prostate cancer taking Olaparib twice a day and closely monitored to check if the cancer has spread any further.
The clinical trial is carried out by Professor Johann de Bono of the Institute of Cancer Research and funded by prostate cancer U.K and various charities.According to the Professor:
A clinical trial which is being conducted by researchers from the Institute of Cancer Research and the Marsden Hospital,says that men who had stopped responding to chemotherapy and hormone therapy treatment were selected and given the cancer inhibitor drug Olaparib.
The drug which was considered a wonder drug by researchers was given to women with aggressive ovarian and breast cancer and surprisingly they survived longer than expected while taking the drug,some even lived up to five more years.
The drug gained approval in 2015 for use in ovarian cancer patients in Europe and the U.S.Olaparib works by hindering mutated cancerous cells that are repairing themselves by stopping the supply of a protein called PARP-1,this protein is vital if the damaged D.N.A in the cells need repairs;the drug is then able to cut off the protein source,thereby resulting in the death of the cancerous cells,which now dramatically slows down the time of progress of the disease.
Experts say the result from the first phase of the trial carried out in men in 2014 has been encouraging,about 30% responded well to the drug.
The second phase which experts say will end this year,has seen 88 men with the advanced prostate cancer taking Olaparib twice a day and closely monitored to check if the cancer has spread any further.
The clinical trial is carried out by Professor Johann de Bono of the Institute of Cancer Research and funded by prostate cancer U.K and various charities.According to the Professor:
''What these latest trials have shown us is huge,for the first time we have used tumor genomics,the sequencing of the D.N.A in a cancer cell,to alter the type of care we can give each patient based on their own particular type of prostate cancer,
''It's much more personalized in the same way that treatment for breast cancer has been for more than a decade,its a big shift and has taken treatment for prostate cancer treatment out of the dark ages in many ways,
''We are starting a third trial this year,it wouldn't surprise if all these trials we have done in the U.K mean that in the next two or three years,we have approval for this drug to treat prostate cancer.''
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