In a nutshell
The authors evaluated skeletal events to determine whether denosumab (Prolia) reduced the risk of skeletal complications in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
Some background
Denosumab is a drug used to treat metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (cancer which has spread from the prostate and does not respond to hormone treatment). Denosumab has been found to cause a significant delay in time taken from treatment until the patient experiences their first skeletal-related event. Skeletal-related events include the need for radiation or surgery to the bone, bone fracture or spinal cord compression (spinal cord is squeezed by bone or tumor). Skeletal events significantly decrease patient function and health-related quality of life in prostate cancer patients.
Methods & findings
The aim of this study was to determine whether denosumab reduced the risk of skeletal complications in metastatic castration-resistant patients.
1, 901 patients with evidence of prostate cancer spread to the bone (bone metastasis) were used in this study. 950 patients received denosumab and 951 patients received zoledronic acid (Zometa, Reclast: prostate cancer drug used for comparison).
Overall, skeletal events were lower in denosumab patients (582) than zoledronic acid patients (675). This held true for both first and subsequent skeletal events.
Denosumab decreased the risk of both first and subsequent skeletal events by 18 – 22% compared to zoledronic acid. The average time to first skeletal event was not reached in the denosumab patient group compared to 24.2 months in the zoledronic acid group.
Patients with either an SSE or SRE were more likely to experience moderate to severe pain than patients without.
The bottom line
Denosumab reduced the risk of skeletal complications in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients.
What’s next?
If you are considering denosumab as a treatment option for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, please consult your doctor for further information.
Published By :
Annals of oncology
Date :
Nov 25, 2014
