New Drug Holds Promise in Treatment of Aggressive Prostate Cancer

Jacksonville – Researchers reported Tuesday that a new experimental drug in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer showed promising results in the 1st and 2nd phase of clinical trials and has increased interest in further testing.

MDV3100, made by Medivation Inc. in San Francisco, California, has done well in initial testing of 30 men with advanced prostate cancer not responding to conventional anti-androgen treatment.

Conventional treatment for men with advanced prostate cancer uses anti-androgen drugs which stop testosterone production. Over time, this conventional treatment can become ineffective.

MDV3100 is an androgen receptor antagonist which blocks androgen receptors and therefore stops testosterone from getting into the cells. Testing done on mice showed dramatic shrinkage of advanced tumors and treatment of 30 men with advanced prostate cancer not responding to conventional therapy showed a decrease in their PSA levels and a regression in their tumors.

Side effects do not seem to be a concern in the initial phases of the trials. Only fatigue was reported with high doses.
MDV3100 comes from the research of Dr. Charles Sawyer, a cancer biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Prostate cancer kills about 29,000 men a year in the U.S. and 250,000 globally. These trials show the potential for better treatment of this disease in the future.