‘Groundbreaking’ two-in-one prostate cancer drug which ‘halves the risk’ of the disease progressing

A treatment described as groundbreaking could benefit hundreds of men with advanced prostate cancer if approved in the UK.

Trials have shown a combination of two drugs – enzalutamide and talazoparib – can halve the risk of prostate cancer progressing.

The treatment is part of a class of new precision medications which allow tumours to be targeted more accurately.

And, while the combination has recently been given the green light by regulators in the US, a UK decision is expected later this year. Last month researchers published results from a worldwide trial involving more than 800 men with a particular type of prostate cancer driven by specific genetic changes.

The findings, published in the Lancet, found the drug combination cut the risk of the cancer progressing by 55 per cent compared to the standard treatment for those patients.

The study was led by Dr Neeraj Agarwal at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Utah and was followed shortly by approval by US regulator, the Food and Drug Administration.

Neli Ulrich, chief scientific officer at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, said: ‘This work is absolutely groundbreaking. It will make a big difference in treatment options for many prostate cancer patients.’

Talazoparib is part of a class of new precision treatments for prostate cancer called PARP inhibitors, which work by blocking a protein which repairs cancer cells. Enzalutamide is a type of hormone therapy for men whose prostate cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

The combination is currently scheduled to be reviewed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) – the UK regulator – in September.

And if given the go-ahead it could benefit ‘several hundred men per year’ with advanced prostate cancer, according to experts.

However, key questions remain – including whether the current benefit in slowing the rate at which cancer progresses can translate to a meaningful extension of life.

And if life expectancy is extended, experts say it’s important to find out whether this will only benefit men who have prostate cancers driven by a particular genetic mutation.

The Mail has relaunched our End Needless Prostate Deaths campaign in a bid to improve diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.

The Mail has fought for nearly 25 years to raise the profile of the cancer, which claims a man’s life every 45 minutes in Britain. More than 50,000 men are diagnosed with it a year, making it the most common cancer in men and second overall.

Dr Matthew Hobbs, of Prostate Cancer UK, said: ‘Treatments which target specific genetic changes in prostate cancers are really exciting.

‘However, targeted treatments won’t work for every man, and we need to tread carefully to make sure they’re given only to those who actually benefit, so those who don’t can move on to other treatments and avoid unnecessary side effects.’