Given sooner, a prostate cancer pairing cuts the risk of the disease advancing by 52%

Men whose prostate cancer has spread, and whose tumours carry faults in the genes that repair DNA, can now be offered a two-drug pairing much earlier in their treatment. On Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded its approval of TALZENNA (talazoparib) combined with XTANDI (enzalutamide), moving the pairing into an earlier stage of metastatic prostate cancer — before the disease learns to resist hormone-based treatment. In the Phase III TALAPRO-3 trial behind the decision, the pairing cut the risk of the cancer growing or spreading on scans, or of death, by 52% compared with XTANDI alone, and at three years an estimated 77% of men on the pairing remained free of progression. Eligibility is set by a gene test at diagnosis, so the men most likely to benefit can be found from the start. Side effects matched the two drugs' known profiles; anaemia was the most common serious one and was generally managed with dose adjustments and supportive care.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation