For men, prostate cancer remains the second most common type of cancer. Only skin cancer is more prevalent. Over the course of his lifetime, one in every seven men will develop prostate cancer and one in 39 men will die of prostate cancer. The difference in those numbers means that lots of men are surviving this disease.
There are more medications than ever before available for the treatment of prostate cancer, with a new medication joining the ranks recently. On February 14, 2018 the FDA approved Janssen’s Erleada™ (apalutamide) for the treatment of patients with prostate cancer that has not spread (non-metastatic), but continues to grow despite treatment with hormone therapy (castration-resistant).
This oral medication earned FDA approval months ahead of the scheduled decision date and is the first FDA-approved treatment for non-metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer. The FDA’s fast approval turnaround of Erleada was based on clinical trials of this medication showing a 72% reduction in risk of metastasis or death. There are currently 2.9 million American men who were previously diagnosed with prostate cancer who are still alive; this medication will only be increasing this impressive number.
Prostate Cancer Risk Factors
Age: As your age goes up, so does the risk of prostate cancer.
Race: Prostate cancer is more common in African-American men.
Family history: If you have a close relative with prostate cancer (father, brother, or son), then you are at higher risk.
Obesity: A higher BMI (a measure of body fat) increases the risk of this disease.
Source
Press release. FDA approves new treatment for a certain type of prostate cancer using novel clinical trial endpoint. U.S. Food and Drug Administration February 14, 2018.
PATIENT EDUCATION TOOLKIT:
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Recommendations for the PSA prostate screening test are being revisited.
3 FREE Posters + 25 BioHeadlines : PSA The Prostrate Cancer Screening Test – Patient Education Handout
