ORLANDO, FL USA (UroToday.com) - Radium-223 has recently been introduced for the treatment of metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Compared to its counterparts, Sm153 and Sr89, Ra-223 has a favorable side effect profile given its cytotoxic mechanism of action and excretion. Dr Marc Bienz from the Montreal presented data on short-term pain evolution, morbidity, and hematologic profile of patients with mCRPC treated with Ra-223. In total, 19 mCRPC patients treated with Ra-223 were included for analysis. Injections were administered monthly in accordance with FDA recommendations. Pain patterns were classified by groups into no/minimal pain relief, worsening pain, and pain improvement.
Following the first and second injections, 21.5% and 44.4% reported reduced pain symptoms, respectively. By the third injection, 50% had pain relief, and 21% reached total pain remission by the third injection. Of note, pain symptoms worsened in 10.5%. Side effects included diarrhea, constipation, nausea, vomiting, bone pain flair response, and lower limb edema in 31.6%, 5.3%, 26.3%, 5.3%, 26.3% and 10.5%, respectively. Dr. Bienz concluded that short-term results demonstrate promising bone-pain relief in half of patients even after only three injections and with mild side effects.
Presented by Marc Bienz at the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting - May 16 - 21, 2014 - Orlando, Florida USA
Montreal, Quebec Canada
Written by Jeffrey J. Tomaszewski, MD, medical writer for UroToday.com