Dr. Tagawa on Utilizing Bone-Targeting Radium-223 in Prostate Cancer

Scott T. Tagawa, MD, MS, FACP, professor of medicine and urology, medical director, Genitourinary Oncology Research Program, Weill Cornell Medical College, attending physician, New York Presbyterian Hospital, discusses the use of radium-223 (Xofigo) in prostate cancer.

The radiotherapeutic radium-223, a bone-targeting alpha-emitter, is underutilized in the treatment of prostate cancer, in the sense that more patients are eligible to receive it than the common perception, Tagawa says. The therapy has generated efficacious data through randomized trials while maintaining a clean toxicity profile, Tagawa explains.

Since radium-223 is only bone-targeted, clinical trials have explored the use of the agent in combination with other drugs, Tagawa says.

Situations could arise where radium-223 is one of the best treatment options for some patients with prostate cancer. However, medical oncologists or urologists may not always have radium-223 at the top of the list of treatment options when they are not the ones administering this type of therapy, Tagawa concludes.