Study: Provenge Prolongs Lives of Advanced Prostate Cancer Patients

A late-stage trial of Provenge, a treatment that teaches the body's immune system to recognize and attack prostate-cancer cells, found that it extended the median survival time of advanced prostate cancer patients by 8.4 months, according to Dendreon Corp.

Advanced prostate cancer patients with Gleason Scores of seven and less receiving Provenge had a median survival time of 30.7 months compared to 22.3 months for patients receiving a placebo, researchers reported.

After two and a half years of follow-up, 53 percent of patients on the drug were alive, compared with 14 percent on a placebo, they added.

"This is the longest survival benefit ever reported in a Phase 3 study in late stage prostate cancer," said Dr. John M. Corman, director of the Virginia Mason Comprehensive Prostate Cancer Clinic. "With the combination of this exciting new survival data and favorable side effect profile, Provenge has the potential to change the way we treat prostate cancer in the future."

As previously reported, no benefit has been seen in men with Gleason Scores of eight and higher, a researcher added.

The trial's results will have to be confirmed in 275 more patients before Provenge shows enough evidence to win Food and Drug Administration approval, a process expected to take two more years.

Other Sources: Dendreon Corp.