Dr. Saad on Expanded Access Program With Radium-223

Fred Saad, MD, FRCSC, principal scientist, full professor, Department of Surgery, chair in Prostate Cancer Research, Université de Montréal, medical director, Interdisciplinary Urologic Oncology Group, head, Urologic Oncology, CHUM, discusses the expanded access program (EAP) of radium-223 for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

The international study examined radium-223 in a real-world setting in approximately 700 patients, Saad explains. Within the EAP, patients were eligible to enroll even if they did not experience pain.

Survival outcomes varied among patients who did and did not report symptoms of pain, he says. Patients who had less pain had a significant improvement in survival versus those who experienced more pain. This demonstrates that patients who can receive radium-223 earlier in the course of their disease are able to tolerate more cycles and have better outcomes, Saad adds. This was also reported in patients with good performance status.

Furthermore, patients who received concomitant therapy with radium-223 and abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) or denosumab (Xgeva; Prolia) had an improvement in survival versus radium-223 alone.