A new study has shown that the drug denosumab can slow the development of prostate cancer metastases in the bones. The study was recently published in the medical journal, Lancet. The article's authors showed that denosumab slowed the development of bony metastases by roughly 4 months in men with advanced prostate cancer.
This may not sound like a huge advance in treatment, but it does represent another significant step forward in treating men with prostate cancer that has become resistant to hormone therapy. There currently are not a great deal of treatment options for men who fall into this category.
The results of the study are important because prostate cancer has a propensity to spread to the skeleton, especially in men whose cancer has become resistant to hormone-deprivation treatment (ie. hormone therapy). These metastases can cause pain as well as weaken the bones and lead to fractures.
The study did show that men taking denosumab had a higher rate of serious adverse side effects like osteonecrosis of the jaw and low calcium levels.
