{"id":283736,"date":"2025-10-07T10:10:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T10:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/283736\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T10:10:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T10:10:13","slug":"new-hope-for-prostate-patients-as-study-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/283736\/","title":{"rendered":"New hope for prostate patients as study shows\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Patients with a certain form of aggressive prostate cancer could benefit from a new combination of drugs which slow cancer growth, according to a new study.<\/p>\n

Academics said their findings support wider use of genetic testing for cancer patients after their study showed that patients with certain genetic mutations appeared to benefit more than others.<\/p>\n

The new global study, led by experts from University College London<\/a> (UCL), assessed whether adding treatment known as niraparib \u2013 which is already used to treat ovarian and fallopian tube cancers \u2013 to standard treatment would benefit patients.<\/p>\n

Niraparib is a type of treatment known as a PARP inhibitor. PARP is a protein which helps damaged cells to repair themselves.<\/p>\n

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March is #ProstateCancerAwarenessMonth<\/a> \ud83d\udc99 1 in 6 men in the UK will get cancer at some point in their lifetime, and it\u2019s most common in men over 75. Learn more about symptoms, testing and treatment: https:\/\/t.co\/iR4VphZmKN<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/NyJjAycIqx<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Cancer Research UK (@CR_UK) March 7, 2023<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These treatments stop the PARP from doing its repair work in cancer cells, leading to cancer cell death.<\/p>\n

Researchers assessed whether adding this treatment to standard care for prostate cancer that has spread would benefit patients.<\/p>\n

Usual treatment for this kind of cancer is called of abiraterone acetate and prednisone (AAP).<\/p>\n

Some 696 men with an average age of 68 from 32 countries around the world were recruited to the trial.<\/p>\n

These men all had alterations in genes involved in an essential type of DNA<\/a> repair, known as homologous recombination repair (HRR).<\/p>\n

And some 56% of the men also had mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are involved in DNA repair.<\/p>\n

Half of the men received the combination of treatment while the other half received usual care.<\/p>\n

Publishing their findings in the journal Nature Medicine, the authors said that the combination treatment reduced the risk of cancer growth by 37% compared to AAP alone in all patients, and by 48% in patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.<\/p>\n

The researchers said that the findings on survival were \u201cimmature but favour niraparib\u201d.<\/p>\n

They highlighted that men who took the combination treatment were more likely to suffer side effects \u2013 including anaemia and high blood pressure \u2013 compared to those who were given the standard treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cCombining niraparib with AAP significantly improved radiographic progression-free survival in patients harbouring BRCA1\/BRCA2 or other HRR gene alterations, suggesting clinical benefit with this combination for these patients,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n

Professor Gerhardt Attard from the UCL Cancer Institute and lead author of the study, said: \u201cAlthough current standard treatments are very effective for the majority of patients with advanced prostate cancer, a small but very significant proportion of patients have limited benefit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now know that prostate cancers with alterations in HRR genes account for a significant group of patients whose disease recurs quickly and has an aggressive course.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy combining with niraparib we can delay the cancer returning and hopefully significantly prolonging life expectancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese findings are striking because they support widespread genomic testing at diagnosis with use of a targeted treatment for patients who stand to derive the greatest benefit.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor cancers with a mutation in one of the eligible HRR genes, where niraparib has been approved, a doctor should consider a discussion that balances the risks of side effects against the clear benefit to delaying disease growth and worsening symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n