New prostate cancer treatment on trial

Posted 05/03/2013

A study carried out by Imperial College in London reports that skin patches delivering oestrogen into the blood stream may be a better, and also cheaper, method of treatment for prostate cancer sufferers than the current therapy which is to inject a testosterone-cutting chemical.Testosterone is the driving force behind the growth of many prostrate cancers so treatment has been concentrated on cutting testosterone levels in sufferers. However, current treatment with injections which reduce both oestrogen and testosterone has side effects such as poor bone health and diabetes. It is hoped that treatment with patches would avoid these side effects. Initial studies are promising and a wider study is now going on with long term follow up to establish how treating with patches rather than the current injections compares with respect to long term efficacy. This is all against a background of the trebling in the risk of prostate cancer which was reported in January.Trefine Maynard, a clinical negligence solicitor at Ashtons Legal, says: “It is encouraging to see the optimistic results from the early studies into this new treatment. As more and more men are diagnosed with the disease, investment in better treatments can only be really welcome news for sufferers and for the medical profession.”