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Bicalutamide: in early-stage prostate cancer
Christopher I Carswell1, David P Figgitt
1Adis International Limited, Auckland, New Zealand. demail@adis.co.nz
Drugs
|November 8, 2002
Summary
Bicalutamide, a nonsteroidal antiandrogen, significantly reduces disease progression in prostate cancer patients. It also shows comparable survival rates to castration with improved quality of life.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Prostate cancer management often involves antiandrogen therapies.
- Nonsteroidal antiandrogens offer an alternative to traditional castration methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy and safety of bicalutamide in prostate cancer treatment.
- To compare bicalutamide monotherapy with castration for locally advanced nonmetastatic prostate cancer.
Main Methods:
- Bicalutamide 150 mg/day was studied as an adjunct to radiotherapy, radical prostatectomy, or watchful waiting in the Early Prostate Cancer (EPC) programme.
- Two nonblind, randomized trials compared bicalutamide 150 mg/day monotherapy with medical or surgical castration.
Main Results:
- In the EPC programme, bicalutamide significantly reduced objective disease progression, bone metastases, and PSA progression compared to placebo (p < 0.0001).
- Bicalutamide monotherapy demonstrated similar overall survival and time to disease progression as castration in locally advanced nonmetastatic prostate cancer patients.
- Bicalutamide recipients reported less loss of sexual interest and better physical capacity than castration recipients (p ≤ 0.05).
Conclusions:
- Bicalutamide 150 mg/day is an effective treatment for localized and locally advanced prostate cancer, reducing disease progression.
- Bicalutamide monotherapy offers comparable survival outcomes to castration with improved patient-reported quality of life.
- Bicalutamide is well-tolerated in long-term studies up to 6.3 years.