Following its endorsement from NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), the recently developed Enzalutamide (Xtandi®) has now become an NHS recommended treatment for thousands of prostate cancer patients throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland; the development is widely welcomed, particularly by those patients for whom chemotherapy is unviable.
As well as restoring hope, it’s believed that Enzalutamide will also provide effective treatment for around 9,000 men currently living with hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. Enzalutamide can be self-administered at home, so it also provides greater peace of mind for patients with compromised immune systems, who are concerned about hospital visits during the current pandemic.
NHS England have classified a number of life-extending medicines as COVID-friendly alternatives and for many, the convenience and diminished likelihood of having to visit hospital has been welcomed perhaps just as much as the comparatively lowered impact that Enzalutamide has when replacing current treatment methods and/or medicines for their advanced prostate cancer.
Enzalutamide trials have clinically proven to prolong the lives of patients with metastatic prostate cancer and because Enzalutamide can also be used in conjunction with ADT (Androgen Deprivation Therapy) Treatment for Advanced Prostate Cancer, a patient’s personal deterioration is slower, because cancer cells within the prostate are deprived of testosterone and effectively starved, thus preventing their growth.
Prostate Cancer UK CEO Angela Culhane spoke of the expected benefits:
“This is fantastic news for thousands of men with advanced prostate cancer, especially those who have additional illnesses that make them unsuitable for chemotherapy… it finally guarantees them access to a treatment which is just as effective as chemotherapy and can give them back precious time with their families.”
Manufactured by Astellas Pharma, Enzalutamide is also known as Xtandi®; while this medicine is unavailable to prostate cancer patients who are based in Scotland, they will be offered *Zytiga® (Abiraterone acetate), a medicine with similar properties that provides comparable treatment, but logistically less favourable results.
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