Men with advanced prostate cancer can now receive a new innovative treatment in the Sarah Bush Lincoln Regional Cancer Center. SBL is the only cancer center in the region to offer Xofigo® , a new type of targeted radiation therapy.
In May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Xofigo® (radium 223 dichloride) to treat men with symptomatic late-stage (metastatic) castration-resistant prostate cancer that has spread to bones, but not to other organs. It is intended for men whose cancer has spread after receiving medical or surgical therapy to lower testosterone.
"Xofigo® is an important new treatment added to our robust nuclear therapeutics program," said Abdur R Shakir, MD, SBL Regional Cancer Center Medical Director. "While we provide the people of East Central Illinois with leading-edge treatments for a broad range of cancers, we are proud to play a significant role in the development and delivery of important new breakthrough treatments as part of the Regional Cancer Center.”
Xofigo® has the advantages of enabling a better quality of life, pain relief, prolonged survival and fewer side effects for the appropriate men with castration resistant prostate cancer. According to Dr. Shakir, "Xofigo represents a significant advance in the current arsenal of hormonal, chemotherapeutic and immunotherapy options available to men with castration-resistant prostate cancer. As the only cancer center in East Central Illinois to offer this new targeted therapy, Sarah Bush Lincoln is clearly demonstrating its commitment to providing cutting-edge therapies for our patients."
Xofigo® is targeted for men with bone metastasis who have hormone-resistant prostate cancer. Hormone-resistant prostate cancer, also known as androgen-insensitive or castration-resistant prostate cancer is defined by disease progression despite androgen-deprivation therapy and may present as one or any combination of a continuous rise in serum levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), progression of pre-existing disease, or appearance of new metastases.
Prognosis is associated with several factors, including performance status, presence of bone pain, extent of disease on bone scan, and serum levels of alkaline phosphatase. Bone metastases will occur in 90 percent of men with hormone resistant prostate cancer and can produce significant morbidity, including pain, pathologic fractures, spinal cord compression, and bone marrow failure.
Xofigo's active ingredient, radium 223 dichloride (radium 223) is an alpha particle-emitting radioactive therapeutic agent which undermines the development and growth of tumors on bone metastases. The treatment is administered intravenously once per month for six months.
Xofigo is the first and only alpha particle-emitting radioactive therapeutic agent approved by the FDA that has demonstrated improvement in overall survival and delay in time to first symptomatic skeletal event compared to placebo. The new treatment emits low levels of alpha particle radiation, sparing and exposing little surrounding tissue due to small depth of penetration.
For more information about Xofigo® or the SBL Regional Cancer Center, call (217) 258-2250 or go to www.sarahbush.org.