FDA Approves New Treatment for Advanced Prostate Cancer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Jevtana (cabazitaxel), a chemotherapy drug used in combination with the steroid prednisone to treat men with prostate cancer. Jevtana is the first treatment for advanced, hormone-refractory, prostate cancer that has worsened during or after treatment with docetaxel, a commonly used drug for advanced prostate cancer.
In prostate cancer, the male sex hormone testosterone can cause prostate tumors to grow. Drugs, surgery, or other hormones are used to reduce testosterone production or to block it. Some men have hormone refractory prostate cancer, meaning the prostate cancer cells continue to grow, despite testosterone suppression. Different treatments are needed for men with this type of cancer.
Jevtana was reviewed under the FDA's priority review program, which provides for an expedited six-month review for drugs that may offer major advances in treatment, or provide a treatment when no adequate therapy exists. Jevtana received approval ahead of the product's Sept. 30, 2010, goal date.
"Patients have few therapeutic options in this disease setting," said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the Office of Oncology Drug Products, part of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "FDA was able to review and approve the application for Jevtana in 11 weeks, expediting the availability of this drug to men with prostate cancer."