Men With Advanced Prostate Cancer Should Be Tested For Genetic Mutations, Study Finds
The recommendation is a major shift from previous thinking in which only men with a family history of prostate cancer were urged to consider testing. Currently insurers are unlikely to cover it in any other case. Meanwhile, a new test could help those men with advanced prostate cancer decide what treatment is best for them, and a high-priced drug for the disease is at the center of a takeover battle.
The Washington Post:
Leading Researchers Recommend Major Change In Prostate Cancer Treatment
Leading American and British cancer researchers are urging that all men with advanced prostate cancer strongly consider being tested for inherited gene mutations -- both to help steer their treatment and to alert family members who themselves might be at increased risk for a range of cancers. This new recommendation, which represents a major change in approach, was prompted by a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. The researchers found that almost 12 percent of men with advanced cancer had defects in genes that are designed to fix damage to DNA, compared to 4.6 percent of patients with disease that hadn't spread. (McGinley, 7/6)
The Wall Street Journal:
Test Aids Prostate Cancer Treatment
Genomic Health Inc. has struck a deal to commercialize a new blood test that can help advanced prostate cancer patients decide whether to try costly new-generation drugs or rely on much cheaper traditional chemotherapy to improve their chances for survival. The test, developed by closely held Epic Sciences Inc., San Diego, detects a mutation associated with a poor response to two new drugs, Xtandi from Medivation Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. of Japan, and Zytiga from Johnson & Johnson. (Winslow, 7/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Cancer Drug Discovered By UCLA Sets Off Takeover Fight Among Biotech Companies
A high-priced prostate cancer drug discovered at UCLA is at the center of a multibillion-dollar takeover battle that has several giant pharmaceutical firms eyeing the purchase of San Francisco biotech firm Medivation. Medivation sells the drug Xtandi for about $129,000 a year. Earlier this year, two nonprofit groups asked the federal government to allow other companies to sell the drug at lower prices. The groups argued that the federal government had a right under the law to allow lower-priced competition because UCLA scientists had used taxpayer-funded grants to discover Xtandi. (Petersen, 7/6)
