Experimental Treatments For Advanced Prostate Cancer
After lung cancer, the type of cancer that is known to produce the highest mortality rate amongst men in the US is prostrate cancer. Unfortunately, owing to lack of evident symptoms in the initial stages of the disease, most victims decipher their medical condition at a time when the malignancy has entered the advanced stage. |
For years, the only treatment conducted has been hormone therapy involving androgen suppression. However, the shortcomings of this therapy in the form of failure of hormones to exterminate the androgen-dependent and androgen-independent components of the cancerous cells pose a hindrance to complete cure. Also, the effect of this therapy has been observed to reduce with time. Initially, the anti-hormonal medicines produce exemplary results but with passage of time, the body produces hormone receptors that diminish the effect of the therapy, resulting in immunity against the same.
Since the production of hormone receptors gradually nullifies the effect of the therapy, there was need to decipher foolproof methods of treatment. Extended research conducted over the years has opened new avenues and techniques for coping with advanced and metastatic prostrate cancer. A new drug named MDV3100 has brought in fresh hope in this area.
The online edition of the journal ‘Science’ highlights the analysis of MDV3100 conducted by the researchers from UCLA, Memorial Sloan-Kettering and other institutions. The medicine is said to work efficiently on patients whose malignancy status shows no change with the hormone therapy. At this stage, the drug definitely seems to be obstructing the hormone receptors, thereby aiding in the treatment of advanced forms of the cancer. Nevertheless, there are still certain areas related to the experimental drug that need to be introspected. Once the drug is found safe for daily usage, it may be available for treatment in the coming 3 to 4 years.
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