A research study has shown via clinical trials that a newly produced drug abiraterone can greatly improve the survival rates of prostate cancer patients.
Abiraterone is a hormone therapy which stops more testosterone from reaching the prostate gland in a bid to restrict the growth of the tumour.
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, results of the clinical trial that involved about 2,000 patients, indicated that Abiraterone (also known as Zytiga), lowered the risk of death by nearly 40 percent when added to standard androgen deprivation therapy.
The professor in charge of the research, Nicholas James, from the University of Birmingham, said: “These are the most powerful results I’ve seen from a prostate cancer trial – it’s a once-in-a-career feeling.
“This is one of the biggest reductions in death I’ve seen in any clinical trial for adult cancers.”
Sumanta Kumar Pal, an expert with the American Society of Clinical Oncology, explained the benefits of the drug.
“Abiraterone now offers a reasonable alternative to chemotherapy for these men,” he said.
“At first glance it appears as though the benefit and survival seen with abiraterone mirrors or exceeds the benefit we’ve seen with chemotherapy with less toxic side effects.”
The results were on Monday presented at the 2017 ASCO annual meeting in Chicago, US.