New drug combination can give patients with prostate cancer months extra life

A new drug combination could give prostate cancer patients months of extra life and revolutionize treatment.

The usual procedure when the disease has spread is to fight tumors with drugs that block testosterone.

In aggressive cases, however, this hormone therapy may no longer work.

According to The Mirror, scientists have added olaparib – a DNA repair enzyme blocker in cancer cells – to the testosterone stopper abiratone.

After a trial of 800 men, the combination was found to extend the life of stage 4 patients by an average of 7.4 months compared to abiratone alone.

Dave Kinsey, 68, from Wigan, Lancashire, went to the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester to participate in the PROpel study, which is funded by Merck and AstraZeneca.

When he was diagnosed in 2016 and given three to five years, a blood test showed the retired civil engineer’s PSA level was 36 against a normal range of 4 or lower.

Mr Kinsey continued taking the drug combination after the trial ended last October and his PSA reading was now less than 0.1. He has no signs of active cancer.

The usual procedure when the disease has spread is to fight tumors with drugs that block testosterone. [File image]

According to The Mirror, Mr Kinsley said: ‘The cancer was in the lymph nodes, in the neck, chest and my groin. Then the bone scan I had when I was assessed for the trial showed cancer in my spine.

“There’s been no progress since then.”

Meanwhile, the study also found that adding olaparib means chemotherapy may not be necessary.

The treatment will now be considered by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.