- Research suggests a new ‘wonder drug’ could help men with prostate cancer
- The pill boosts survival in women battling genetic breast and ovarian cancer
- American actor Ben Stiller, 51, revealed he had been diagnosed with the disease
A ‘wonder drug’ that boosts survival in women battling genetic breast and ovarian cancer may also be a lifeline for men with advanced prostate cancer, according to new research.
The latest findings from clinical trials could give further hope to many of the 46,000 men in the UK diagnosed each year with the disease. The condition affects the walnut-sized gland that sits under the bladder and accounts for more than 11,000 deaths a year in the UK.
Last year American comedy actor Ben Stiller, 51, revealed he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014. The Zoolander star underwent surgery, a prostatectomy, and is now cancer-free.
Other high-profile sufferers include actors Robert De Niro, 73, and Sir Ian McKellen, 77. Musician Frank Zappa died of the disease in 1993, aged 53.
Ben Stiller, 51, (pictured with his wife Christine Taylor) revealed he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014
In the trial, led by researchers from the world-renowned Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital, men were given the pioneering cancer inhibitor drug olaparib.
Those selected had stopped responding to chemotherapy and hormone therapy treatment, which are the established ways of tackling the disease.
Olaparib was previously hailed a ‘wonder drug’ in newspaper reports after women with the BRCA gene mutation who developed aggressive ovarian and breast cancer survived for longer than expected while taking it.
Researchers found that women who were given the drug after undergoing chemotherapy survived an average 11 months longer than might be expected. Some lived for a further five years.
In 2015, olaparib gained approval for use in ovarian cancer patients in Europe and the US.
The drug works by stopping mutated cancerous cells repairing themselves. It does this by stopping the supply of a protein called PARP-1 that is vital if the damaged DNA in the cells need mending. Because the drug cuts off this protein source, the cancer cells die, dramatically slowing for a time the progress of the disease.
So far, the results from the trial with men recruited in 2014 have been very encouraging, experts say.
The first part of the study showed that up to 30 per cent of the men who had cancer as a result of the DNA failing to repair cells responded well to the drug.
In the second phase, which is due to end later this year, 88 men with advanced prostate cancer have been taking olaparib tablets twice a day. All the participants have blood tests every four weeks and CT scans every three months to check if the cancer has spread.
Olaparib was previously hailed a ‘wonder drug’ after women with the BRCA gene mutation who developed aggressive ovarian and breast cancer survived for longer than expected
Professor Johann de Bono, of the Institute of Cancer Research, is overseeing the trial that has been funded by various charities including Prostate Cancer UK. Prof de Bono says: ‘What these latest trials have shown us is huge.
‘For the first time we have used tumour genomics, the sequencing of the DNA in a cancer cell, to alter the type of care we can give each patient based on their own particular type of prostate cancer.
‘It’s much more personalised, in the same way that treatment for breast cancer has been for more than a decade. It’s a big shift and has taken treatment for prostate cancer treatment out of the dark ages in many ways. We’re starting a third trial later this year. It wouldn’t surprise if all these trials we have done in the UK mean that in the next two or three years we have approval for this drug to treat prostate cancer.’
Retired building company manager Douglas Baker is currently taking 400mg of olaparib twice a day as part of the trial. ‘When my consultant asked if I’d be interested in this new trial, I jumped at the chance,’ says Mr Baker, 73, from Lambourn, Berkshire.
‘I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004. I was 60, and regularly started getting up during the night to use the bathroom. My wife Sue urged me to see my GP. I later had a biopsy that found I had it.’
MR Baker has undergone several treatments including radiotherapy and cryotherapy, when very cold temperatures are used to kill off the cancer, as well as chemotherapy and hormone therapy. But by the end of 2015 there were signs that the disease was no longer responding to treatment. By then, the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes and liver.
‘I think my doctors had run out of ways to treat me until this new drug came along,’ he says.
After screening established that Mr Baker was suitable for the clinical trial, he began taking olaparib in February last year. He says: ‘I’ve been taking the pills ever since and the results have been absolutely amazing. The tumours have shrunk significantly and I’ve had no side effects. My consultant can hardly believe it.
‘When I ask how long I’ll be on it, my doctor tells me as long as they keep working. I know they have given me many more years which my family really appreciate. I hope what they have discovered by trying this drug out on me will help lots of other men too.’
Scientists have discovered a new way to beat antibiotic-resistant infections – by depleting patients’ own immune system.
British researchers have successfully treated patients with resistant bronchiectasis, a debilitating lung disease, by removing antibodies from the bloodstream.
They believe that an excess of certain antibodies – proteins produced by white blood cells which can neutralise bacteria and viruses – can damage the body’s ability to respond to some diseases. Two patients in the study are believed to be the first successful cases using this technique to beat infections. Teams from Birmingham and Newcastle universities identified a 64-year-old man and a 69-year-old woman who were both suffering chronic chest infections resistant to many antibiotics.
British researchers have successfully treated patients with resistant bronchiectasis, a debilitating lung disease
The woman had previously been given 14 different drugs which had shown no benefits, but the new treatment led to a significant improvement in her condition. Both patients were able to leave hospital and return home, with the benefits continuing for months. They then returned for more treatment.
Bronchiectasis leads to permanent enlargement of the airways in the lung and affects more than 300,000 patients in the UK. Symptoms can include a chronic cough, shortness of breath and coughing up blood. The disease often affects those patients beyond the age at which lung transplantation is possible.
Professor Ian Henderson, who led the study, said: ‘Perhaps counter-intuitively, we decided to remove a particular antibody and the outcomes were wholly positive.’