Men and women have long been promised a male version of the female contraceptive pill. But the first new male contraceptive to market may not be hormonal at all. Researchers received Food and Drug Administration approval for a 90-man study of t
When researchers at the Chang Gung University Medical College, Taiwan and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine injected botulinum toxin A, or Botox, into the prostate gland of men with benign p
When researchers at the Chang Gung University Medical College, Taiwan and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine injected botulinum toxin A, or Botox, into the prostate gland of men with benign p
Researchers from the Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute and Southwest Oncology Group have identified a new method of determinin
The Washington Post, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University have released a new comprehensive survey looking at how Africa
Researchers in the U.S. say that even though men are able to father children well into old age, the quality of the sperm declines as men age.It seems not only does the sperm lose their ability to swim in a straight line they also become genetic
The Washington Post, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University have released a new comprehensive survey looking at how Africa
Researchers in the U.S. say that even though men are able to father children well into old age, the quality of the sperm declines as men age.It seems not only does the sperm lose their ability to swim in a straight line they also become genetic
In the latest issue of Psychology of Women Quarterly, researchers find that men rate themselves and the women they just interacted with higher on sexual traits, su
New research says that boys have a greater chance of becoming gay if they have older brothers.Anthony Bogaert, of Brock University, Ontario, Canada, says a man's sexual orientation may be determ
Date: Wednesday, 24-Jan-2007
A tablet designed to emulate the healing power of the sun could be available for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer as early as 2009.But it remains to be seen whether the drug will be the revolution in prostate cancer care that its makers claim.
The drug, Asentar (DN-101), is based on vitamin D and is given to patients in the advanced stages of prostate cancer along with chemotherapy drugs. Drug makers came up with the idea because vitamin D from sunlight improves the prognosis of certain cancers. But taking natural levels of the vitamin has no effect. Novacea, the company that makes Asentar, produced a novel formulation that reproduces the healing effect without the dangerous side-effects of a vitamin D overdose. If the on-going phase III trial goes to plan, the new drug should be available in 2009, reports Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI.
'If the results of the phase III trial are as good as those of the phase II trial, that would be significant,' says Nick James, professor of oncology at the University of Birmingham. In the phase II trials, Asentar significantly improved survival rates, 9 months over patients taking chemotherapy drugs (taxotere) alone. 'On average, patients in the advanced stage of the disease survive about 18 months, so an extension of 9 months would be very significant in my view,' says James.
Asentar provides levels of vitamin D 50-100 times higher than normal. Patients would be expected to take one tablet once a week with their weekly regime of taxotere for three weeks out of every four.
Business analysts say Asentar is a potential blockbuster, because prostate cancer rates are expected to soar in the next few years. But James is not so sure. 'A confounding factor is that if you go looking for more cases of cancer, you will find them. But this does not give you an accurate estimate of how many people will go on to develop advanced disease. In fact death rates are going down, which means that the market for this drug is probably pretty static.'
James also points out that it is far from certain that the Phase III trials will repeat the success of early trials. 'The phase II trial used a less than optimal taxotere regime so the survival rate may have been artificially inflated,' he says. He points out, however, that it may be that the Asentar will eventually prove applicable in the earlier stages of the disease.
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. Prostate cancer kills one man every hour in the UK.
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