16 Jul PD-1 Blocker May Help Some With Metastatic Prostate Cancer

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Julie Graff

Julie Graff, M.D.
Oncologist specializing in prostate cancer
Knight Cancer Institute
Oregon Health & Science University

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Response: Men with metastatic prostate cancer that is not responding to second-line androgen receptor blockade (such as enzalutamide) have a very limited life expectancy. We found that adding immunotherapy to enzalutamide in men whose prostate cancer is no longer responding to enzalutamide could exert a very strong anti-cancer effect. Previous experience with this type of immunotherapy in prostate cancer patients suggested this type immunotherapy does not work in patients with prostate cancer. What we have found will lead to more studies of this agent.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Readers should view these data with optimism. It can lead to some profound responses. However, it is too soon to use this therapy in everyone. In fact, in this publication, most patients did not have an anti-tumor response, and we need to learn which patients will have a response and how to improve response in the others.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: We need to look at the tumors that either did or did not respond to the immunotherapy so that we can better select patients. We need to know if there are more effective combination of agents. Eventually we will need to do a study comparing this agent to placebo to see if it does indeed significantly improve survival in prostate cancer patients.

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Response: This study gives metastatic prostate cancer patients a reason to be hopeful. I would like to thank the wonderful men who participated in this study, and the team of researchers who collaborated on this effort.

MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.

Citation:

Julie N. Graff, Joshi J. Alumkal, Charles G. Drake, George V. Thomas, William L. Redmond, Mohammad Farhad, Jeremy P. Cetnar, Frederick S. Ey, Raymond C. Bergan, Rachel Slottke, Tomasz M. Beer. Early evidence of anti-PD-1 activity in enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer. Oncotarget, 2014; DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.10547

Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.

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Last Updated on July 16, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD