One added drug cut prostate cancer's risk of spreading or death by 58%

For men whose prostate cancer is likely to come back, what matters most is stopping it before it spreads. In a large Phase 3 trial called DASL-HiCaP, 1,106 men in six countries received standard hormone therapy and radiation — and half also took darolutamide, a daily tablet that blocks the hormone signals prostate cancer feeds on. After nearly four years of follow-up, the added-drug group saw their risk of the cancer spreading, or of death, fall by 58%. At four years, 95% of them remained free of spread, against 88% on standard care alone, and side effects were much the same in both groups. The trial was led by the University of Sydney and the ANZUP group, and the results were presented today at the ESMO cancer congress in Madrid. The drug is not yet approved for this earlier stage, and longer follow-up continues.

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