Radiopharmaceutical prostate cancer treatment adopted in the US

The drug binds to bone metastases to facilitate the more efficient administration of radiation.

The radiopharmaceutical prostate cancer treatment Xofigo was recently approved by the Food and Drug (FDA) administration, and US healthcare providers are already utilising the medicine.

Franciscan St Francis Health Cancer Center claims that it is the first medical facility in the state of Indiana to prescribe the drug to men affected by the disease.

Prostate cancer is the sixth most common cause of death in males worldwide, according to Cancer Research UK, and approximately one million people are diagnosed annually.

Nine-in-ten patients will be affected by bone metastases, and this spread of diseased cells can seriously compromise quality of life and survival rates.

Xofigo has been developed to support those men who have experienced this complication, for whom castration is not a suitable treatment option.

Administered by intravenous injection on six occasions throughout a four-week period, the drug binds to tumours in the bone in order to facilitate the effective application of radiation therapy.

This procedure reduces the destruction of healthy cells, thus lowering the potential for serious side-effects in patients, offering a favourable prognosis in comparison to alternative methods.