Emerging Therapies for Prostate Cancer

There are approximately 1,000 ongoing clinical trials in prostate cancer just in the U.S. that are testing new therapies and therapeutic strategies, with many more worldwide. While only a few of these will ultimately lead to new treatments or practice-changing solutions, there are several promising approaches that should be noted. 

Some are in small, early-phase clinical trials, while others are in large comparative trials that may lead to FDA approval in the near term. Consult your doctor to find out about joining a clinical trial or to check the status of FDA approval. 

Current areas of exploration in prostate cancer treatment include: 

• Moving therapies to earlier states of prostate cancer: Treatments currently approved for mCRPC are being tested in patients whose prostate cancer is still responsive to hormone therapy, such as PARP inhibitors and PSMA radionuclide therapy 

• New combinations: Giving existing, approved treatments together may be synergistic and lead to better patient outcomes, such as PSMA radionuclide therapy with immunotherapy 

• New targets: Clinical trials are being conducted to test therapies that target genes such as PTEN, Wnt, CDK12, CHEK2, MYC, and others 

• Therapies currently used in other cancers that may be applied to prostate cancer 

• Novel approaches such as CAR-T cells (“chimeric antigen receptor”)—T cells (immune cells) taken from a patient and genetically engineered to target and kill tumor cells 

• Bipolar androgen therapy (BAT): Testosterone levels are cycled between supraphysiologic (very high) and castrate (very low) levels to re-sensitize patients to drugs such as abiraterone or period enzalutamide
  
  Read more about BAT.

• Diet and exercise: Understanding how patients can change their health habits to lower their risk of prostate cancer progression and improve survivorship and quality of life