New study provides game-changing prostate cancer treatment
A new treatment trialled in Surrey, and described as ‘potentially one of the biggest weapons in the fight against prostate cancer’, has been given the green light by the medicines regulator.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted marketing authorisation for the use of Lutetium isotope treatment for prostate cancer, after successful trials involving two patients at the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust and other hospitals around the world.
Royal Surrey’s Nuclear Medicine team delivered the treatment as part of the Phase III VISION study. The study was led by Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and supported locally by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Clinical Research Network Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
One of the patients who was given early access to the treatment was Robert Lane, 73. He said: “I have been very pleased as how sharply my Prostate-Specific Antigen levels (a key indicator of the treatment’s effectiveness) kept falling well after the end of my treatment reaching a low of 6.14, an almost two hundred fold reduction from its peak of 1,185 at the start of treatment.
“My recent scan shows no sign of the cancer in my lymph glands or lungs, and that the level in my bones is much reduced.
“I realise cancer is a persistent fellow, and I realise it is not a total cure, but my experience of taking part in this research study has been so positive that it inspired me to become a Research Champion, promoting research and encouraging other patients to get involved.”
Nuclear medicine – the clinical use of radioactive materials – is most commonly used to diagnose and evaluate cancer and other conditions. Professor Vineet Prakash, Clinical Lead for Nuclear Medicine at Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The success of the initial study, and the speed with which the treatment was offered through an Early Access Medicine Scheme, shows that Lutetium 177 treatment has the potential to become one of our biggest weapons in the fight against prostate cancer.”
