Every year, some 200,000 Americans contract prostate cancer. While if the cancer is detected in the earlier stages, it can be treated fairly effectively. However, it the diagnosis is somehow delayed, the cancer spreads to the bones and becomes immune to conventional hormonal therapies. Now, a new research has presented a drug which may be the miracle for prostate cancer.
Zytiga has been a well-known name in the world prostate cancer treatment for quite some time. The drug has been made by Johnson & Johnson and FDA has already approved it for such prostate cancer patients who didn’t recover effectively after a chemo treatment. So essentially, so far it has been a late-stage drug for prostate cancer patients.
So how does Zytiga accomplish this? Well, Zytiga is able to penetrate the cancerous cells and then kill off the damaged cells. Moreover, while most other drugs become ineffective shortly after use and the cancerous cells metastasizes, Zytiga remains effective for a lot longer time, not letting the cancer metastasize.
Now, it has been found out that Zytiga may be a lot more effective even when prescribed during the earlier stages of prostate cancer. A recent research affirms this definitely. The research involved 1088 men from 12 countries who were divided into three groups.
Once group received Zytiga, another received low-dose prednisone treatment and the third was given a placebo. It was immediately discovered by the researchers that in such patients who used Zytiga, the growth of the cancer was reduced by half. Patients immediately registered less pain and much longer delay between their chemo sessions.
The early-stage use of Zytiga hasn’t yet been approved by FDA, although it is expected that the agency may approve it some time soon. With this new drug, there is finally a hope for prostate cancer patients, even those who are in their later stages.
Source: SFGate
Courtesy: Gizmodo
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