For the first time, an experimental drug has extended the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer who are no longer responding to other treatments and are out of options for fighting the disease, a company-led study found.
The benefit was modest — an extra 10 weeks — but specialists were excited because no chemotherapy until now has been shown to boost survival in such men. And like any new drug tested on worst-case patients, there are hopes it will do better when tested in men who aren’t as sick.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it will give the drug cabazitaxel, made by Sanofi- Aventis SA of France, a quick review, which means it could be on the market soon.
In the study, the drug cut the risk of dying during roughly one year of treatment by 30 percent compared with another medicine that eases symptoms but does not prolong life, said Dr. Oliver Sartor of Tulane University.
The results will be presented Friday at an American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting. The study was sponsored by Sanofi, and most of the researchers work or consult for the firm.
Meanwhile, the American Cancer Society is warning more explicitly than ever that regular testing for prostate cancer is of questionable value and can do men more harm than good.
The Cancer Society has not recommended routine screening for most men since the mid- 1990s, and that is not changing. But the organization is urging doctors to talk frankly with their patients about the risks and limitations of the PSA blood test when offering it.
The widely used test often spots cancers growing too slowly to be deadly, and treatment can lead to incontinence and impotence. Two big studies last year suggested prostate-cancer screening doesn’t necessarily save lives.
But the new guidelines trouble some people.
“Prostate cancer is still something to be respected, if not feared, and we still need to be vigilant. I hope primary-care docs or insurance companies don’t use the ‘softening’ of the guidelines as an excuse to not do screening at all,” said Dr. David Roberts, medical director of an Atlanta clinic that caters to businessmen.
Men will need to weigh their fear of having a potentially aggressive cancer versus treatment that can cause ugly side effects. Another option if cancer is found is watchful waiting — that is, doing nothing — but that can mean high anxiety.
The Cancer Society’s new guidance released Wednesday urges doctors to:
• Discuss the pros and cons of testing with patients, offering written information or videos that discuss the likelihood of false test results and the side effects of treatment.
• Stop routinely giving the rectal exam because it has not clearly shown a benefit, though it can remain an option.
• Use past PSA readings to determine how often follow-up tests are needed and to guide conversations about treatment.
