Drug Therapy

The 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor dutasteride (Avodart) appears to slow the growth of early-stage prostate cancer among men undergoing active surveillance, according to data presented at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in Orlando, FL.

The RANK Ligand inhibitor denosumab (Xgeva) significantly delays skeletal-related events (SREs) in men with prostate cancer and bone metastases, French researchers recently reported.

The 5-alpha reductase inhibitor dutasteride (Avodart) may not be a cost-effective way to prevent prostate cancer in men who are at elevated risk of developing the disease, according to a recent study.

Cancer patients treated with the angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab (Avastin) may be at an increased risk of treatment-related death when the drug is used in combination with other therapies, say researchers from Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY.

GlaxoSmithKline has received a complete response letter from the FDA for the supplemental new drug application for dutasteride (Avodart) for reducing the risk of prostate cancer in men at increased risk for the disease, defined as those who have had a prior negative biopsy due to clinical concern and have an elevated serum PSA level.

An investigational formulation of desmopressin demonstrated efficacy in treating nocturia in adults in a randomized, placebo-controlled study.

Results of a phase III trial failed to confirm data from a phase II study suggesting that the addition of high-dose oral calcitriol (DN-101) to docetaxel (Taxotere) confers a survival advantage and reduces toxicity versus treatment with docetaxel alone in men with progressive castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

Obesity is independently related to better outcomes in patients with metatstatic renal cell carcinoma who are treated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Use of anticoagulants, particularly aspirin, substantially reduces the risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality, analysis of a large prostate cancer database showed.

Labeling on testosterone products sold in the United States indicates that testosterone supplementation is contraindicated in men with a history of prostate cancer and in those thought to be at risk for the disease. A recent study brings the validity of that warning into question.

A multi-targeted angiogenesis inhibitor more than doubled progression-free survival in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Results of a retrospective study including a series of post-radical prostatectomy patients with pathology-proven high-risk characteristics provide further insight into the use of testosterone replacement therapy in men with a history of prostate cancer.

The FDA has approved denosumab (Xgeva), a RANK Ligand inhibitor for the prevention of skeletal-related events (SREs) in patients with bone metastases from solid tumors, including prostate cancer.

A cholesterol-lowering drug reduced the enlarged prostates of hamsters to the same extent as a drug commonly used to treat BPH, report researchers from Children's Hospital, Boston.

The FDA has asked drug manufacturers to add new warnings to labeling of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists to alert patients and health care professionals to the potential risk of heart disease and diabetes in men treated with these medications for prostate cancer.

Patients treated with the investigational agent abiraterone acetate plus low-dose prednisone/prednisolone showed a significant improvement in overall survival compared with those treated with prednisone/prednisolone plus placebo, according to results from an interim analysis of a randomized, placebo-controlled phase III study.

Cabazitaxel (Jevtana) injection, in combination with prednisone, reduced the risk of death by 30% in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer whose disease progressed following treatment with docetaxel (Taxotere)-based chemotherapy, according to a recent study.

Although finasteride (Proscar) was shown to be effective in reducing the incidence of prostate cancer in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT), physicians apparently have not embraced the use of the agent for this indication, according to a recent study.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology has submitted comprehensive comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expressing concern about its decision to open a national coverage analysis (NCA) for sipuleucel-T (Provenge).

A newer selective alpha-1 blocker provided statistically significant reductions in BPH symptom scores compared with placebo and was well tolerated in a study from several European institutions.

In men with metastatic castration- resistant prostate cancer who progressed after docetaxel (Taxotere)-based therapy, treatment with cabazitaxel (Jevtana) was associated with significantly better overall survival compared with mitoxantrone (Novantrone).

Mission Pharmacal Co. has announced the introduction of methenamine, sodium phosphate monobasic, phenyl salicylate, methylene blue, hyoscyamine sulfate (Uribel) capsules for oral administration to help relieve local discomfort and inflammation associated with lower urinary tract infections, interstitial cystitis, painful bladder syndrome, and pre- and post-diagnostic urinary tract procedures.

The FDA has approved a new one-vial formulation of the chemotherapeutic agent docetaxel (Taxotere Injection Concentrate).

The FDA has approved Jalyn, a single-capsule combination of dutasteride, 0.5 mg, and tamsulosin, 0.4 mg, to treat symptomatic BPH.

Sipuleucel-T (Provenge) appears to show a statistically significant improvement in overall survival in men with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, according to results of a recently published study.