Prostate Cancer Drug Cuts Spread Risk in Trial, New England Journal Reports

The PROTEUS trial, whose full results were posted by the journal on its official account, tested whether combining a drug called apalutamide with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) — a standard hormone treatment that lowers testosterone to slow cancer growth — could outperform ADT given alongside a placebo. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, patients on the combination were more likely to show a pathological complete response, meaning no detectable cancer cells remained in tissue examined after treatment, or minimal residual disease, meaning only tiny traces were left.

The trial also tracked metastasis-free survival — how long patients lived without the cancer spreading to other parts of the body — over five years. A greater percentage of patients on ADT plus apalutamide reached that five-year mark without spread than those on ADT plus placebo, according to the journal’s findings.

Apalutamide works by blocking androgen receptors, the proteins that prostate cancer cells use to receive signals from testosterone. By cutting off that signal more completely than hormone therapy alone, the drug aims to suppress cancer activity at an earlier, localised stage before it can travel elsewhere in the body.

The trial focused specifically on high-risk localised prostate cancer — tumours that have not yet spread but carry features suggesting they are more likely to do so.

The PROTEUS results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Men in Kent with concerns about prostate cancer symptoms or treatment options should speak to their GP in the first instance, or contact NHS 111 for guidance on next steps.