Prostate Cancer Drug Reduces Risk of Death in Clinical Trial

Provenge, an immunotherapy cancer treatment developed by Seattle-based biotechnology company Dendreon, has been found to extend the lives of men with prostate cancer in a clinical trial. Treatment with Provenge involves the removal of some white blood cells, which are then mixed with a genetically engineered protein. That protein is a combination of an immune system stimulator and a certain molecule found in prostate cancer cells. The white blood cells are then infused into the patient in the hopes that they will attack anything that resembles the prostate cancer molecule. The trial included roughly 500 men with advanced prostate cancer that was no longer responding to therapy. Dendreon found that the men that received Provenge had a reduced risk of death when compared to those men that were given a placebo. The results of the trial met the goal established by Dendreon and the Food and Drug Administration, who previously declined to approve Provenge. After a smaller trial by Dendreon of 127 men two years ago, the FDA decided that more proof that Provenge worked was needed before they would approve the drug. That previous trial found that the men who received Provenge lived a median of 25.9 months, compared with the men who received the placebo, who lived a median of 21.4 months.

Although Dendreon did not yet release the detailed results of this most recent trial, it plans to do so at a urology meeting later this month. The intention of this therapeutic vaccine is not to prevent prostate cancer, but to direct a person’s immune system to attack the disease after it has developed. The approval of Provenge by the FDA is widely anticipated, although no final decision has been made by the Administration. If the drug is approved, more men with prostate cancer who are no longer benefitting from other therapies could extend their lives. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the most common cancer, other than skin cancers, in American men. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, only after lung cancer. Cancer treatment is most effective when the cancer is caught early on. If you or someone you love has been harmed by a delay in diagnosis or treatment of cancer, our malpractice attorneys can help. Your initial consultation is FREE and there is NO FEE to you unless we recover money. Please call Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C. today, or submit an instant inquiry now and we will respond within 24 hours. Our experienced cancer malpractice attorneys serve clients with Bronx cancer malpractice, Brooklyn cancer malpractice, Queens cancer malpractice, Manhattan cancer malpractice and Long Island cancer malpractice cases.

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