Dr. Dreicer Discusses Using Abiraterone Acetate

Robert Dreicer, MD, MS, chairman of the Department of Solid Tumor Oncology at the Taussig Cancer Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, explains that he began using the agent abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) shortly after its approval for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer in April 2011.

The FDA indication for the compound was for patients that had already received docetaxel. Dreicer explains that he initially used the agent in this setting but has since moved its introduction into the first-line setting.

Dreicer notes that the agent performed similarly to clinical trials that demonstrated close to a 3 month increase in median overall survival. He added that although abiraterone acetate is not curative it is an important advance and a valuable addition to the prostate cancer armamentarium.