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Men have more options in prostate cancer treatments
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/09/30/prostate-cancer-treatments/1588101/4:57AM EST September 30. 2012 - Jim Kiefert of Olympia, Wash., has been battling prostate cancer for 23 years. The retired school administrator, 74, has never been more optimistic about his prospects than he is now.
For the first time ever, thanks to a handful of drug approvals over the past 2½ years, there are now multiple options for treating advanced prostate cancer. The newest drug, enzalutamide, which goes by the brand name Xtandi, came on the market last week with the best survival data ever seen in prostate cancer.
None of the new drugs is a cure. Enzalutamide extends life by just five months, according to research. But they work extremely well for some patients and have far fewer side effects than most predecessor drugs, said Stuart Holden, who practices at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and is medical director of the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
The only downside, Holden said, is that he now has a choice of drugs to prescribe for the first time, but no way of deciding which drug is best.
