Hi Guys,This looks interesting for guys with a non-responsive, aggressive prostate cancer like mine but more so, for those following the conventional medical treatment path. Currently a no-no for me.
Tamara McLean
March 22, 2007 09:06am
Article from: The Brisbane Courier Mail
New prostate cancer drug
An experimental drug designed to fight the spread of aggressive prostate cancer is showing great promise for future sufferers, Australian developers say.
A team from the University of New South Wales is working on a new therapy for prostate cancer patients who stop responding to standard hormone treatments.
The medication is still in the development stage but if new tests prove successful, it could bring relief for a group of men for whom there is currently no treatment, said study leader Dr Kieran Scott.
“We’ve seen enough positive data to know it’s worth testing in people,” Dr Scott said.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Australian men, with patients usually treated with some combination of surgery, radiation and hormone medications.
These drugs effectively limit the spread of prostate cancer in the early stages by suppressing the male hormones that tumours need to grow.
But over time cancers often stop responding to this treatment, putting men at risk of tumour growth and cancer spread to the bones.
Dr Scott said his team at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney believed it had a new oral medicine that could slow the growth of hormone-resistant cancer and stop its spread.
The medication works by blocking an enzyme which releases Omega-6 fatty acids - fats which, when consumed in the diet, have been associated with increased rates of disease.
“We think we can slow the growth of tumours that are resistant and we believe the drug may also help slow the growth of tumours in bones,” Dr Scott said.
“If we can help in those two areas then we’ll have a therapy for prostate cancer patients who currently have no good treatment.”
The team has been granted Cancer Council NSW funding for a new round of tests, with plans to manufacture and trial the experimental compound in the most severely-affected patients if they have success.
“I’ve been working in this area for 10 or 15 years and to be honest I didn’t think this would work,” Dr Scott said.
“But the data keeps me going because it keeps suggesting this approach really will work.”
Other cancer grants awarded include an investigation of genes that predispose people to melanoma and a study of new techniques to minimise breast cancer surgery side-effects.
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