 |
Associate
Professor Arun Azad and the
Prostate Cancer Therapeutics research group
|
Monash
University research has revealed that prostate cancer patients with a
particular biomarker may benefit from commonly used hormonal drugs, contrary to
a landmark study published a few years ago.
Monash
Health oncologist Associate Professor Arun Azad from the Prostate Cancer
Therapeutics laboratory, School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS) led
the study that will change clinical practice and may improve outcomes for
patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
“A
landmark study published in 2014 had suggested that
men with a certain biomarker (known as AR-V7) do not respond to some
of the commonly used hormonal drugs in prostate cancer,” Associate
Professor Azad said.
AR-V7,
a type of protein, is easily detected in the blood of men with prostate cancer.
“In
our study, we’ve shown that patients with AR-V7 may in fact respond to the
drugs abiraterone and enzalutamide, and should not necessarily be excluded from
such therapies if they express this biomarker.”
The
study, published last week in European
Urology, supports a recent pivotal phase III clinical trial that made the
same finding.
Associate Professor Azad said his group’s research shows that the
presence of AR-V7 should not be used to guide treatment selection for men with
advanced prostate cancer.
“This represents a major shift in our understanding of AR-V7 and
its potential clinical utility as a biomarker,” he said.
“This is a pertinent reminder that we should not ‘jump
the gun’ with biomarker studies and make assumptions—or even worse, change
our clinical practice—on the basis of a solitary study.”
Associate Professor Azad’s research was supported by an NHMRC
Project Grant on which he is the Chief Investigator.
He thanks the patients and families who so generously supported
this ongoing study, as well as his research team,
clinical collaborators at Monash Health, Eastern Health and Chris
O'Brien, Lifehouse.
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