Dr. O'Sullivan on Radium-223 With Enzalutamide and Abiraterone in mCRPC

Joe O'Sullivan, MD, clinical professor, School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Biomedical Sciences, Centre for Cancer Research and Biology, Northern Ireland Cancer Centre, discusses the efficacy of radium-223 when combined with enzalutamide and/or abiraterone in an international early access program (EAP) for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

The study, which enrolled 921 patients with mCRPC, examined patients with similar criteria as seen in the ALSYMPCA trial. This criteria includes bone metastases, good liver function, and a performance stage >2. Patients in the EAP were offered open-label radium-223 with six injections combined with best standard of care.

The toxicity profile of radium-223 includes low rates of hematological toxicities, O’Sullivan says. Similar toxicities were experienced when patients additionally received agents such as enzalutamide and abiraterone. These hypothesis-generating data suggest that patients receiving enzalutamide and/or abiraterone simultaneously with radium-223 may have improved overall survival.