Prostate sufferers’ tumours shrink in ‘outstanding’ trial of recent remedy
A new treatment for advanced prostate cancer can halt and even shrink tumours, ‘remarkable’ trials have shown.
Early tests of the immunotherapy, which harnesses the body’s immune system to fight cancer, saw the disease lessen in nearly half of men.
Until now, this type of treatment had not proved effective for prostate cancer patients, with little reduction in tumours or severe side-effects.
But the new drug, known as VIR-5500, uses a ‘cloaking device’ to ensure it does not activate until reaching the tumour, which helps prevent side-effects.
Experts said it raises hopes ‘in the not-too-distant future’ of a cure for people whose cancer has already spread.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in British men with 55,000 new cases a year. High-profile patients include Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy, 49, who is living with a terminal diagnosis.
Researchers, led by the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, tested 58 men with advanced prostate cancer that had stopped responding to other treatments.
Almost half (45 per cent) of patients saw their tumour shrink, found the team, led by Professor Johann de Bono.
High-profile prostate cancer patients include Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy, 49, (pictured with his wife Sarra at BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year Award ceremony in 2024) who is living with a terminal diagnosis
Meanwhile, 88 per cent of all the patients, who were recruited from eight sites around the world, experienced only very mild side-effects, according to the findings presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco.
Of the 17 patients given the highest dose of the drug, half (53 per cent) saw their levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) – a blood marker indicating prostate disease – drop by 90 per cent. And 82 per cent saw them halved.
Known as a ‘T-cell engager’, the drug works by binding to the body’s immune T-cells and to a protein found on prostate cancer cells. When it binds to the cancer cells – wherever they are – it brings the T-cells into contact with them, enabling the attack.
The drug’s ‘cloaking device’ also enables the drug to stay in the bloodstream for longer, meaning fewer doses are needed, according to the study funded by Vir Biotechnology.
Professor Johann de Bono said the drug will now progress to larger trials. He added: ‘There is certainly hope drugs such as this will increase the likelihood of a cure even from advanced prostate cancer that has already spread, in the not-too-distant future.’
The Daily Mail has campaigned for more than two decades for better prostate cancer care.
