Dr. Gomella on the Unique Attributes of Neoadjuvant Zytiga

Leonard G. Gomella, MD, Bernard W. Godwin Jr. professor of prostate cancer and chairman of the Department of Urology, director of Clinical Affairs, Jefferson Kimmel Cancer Center, discusses the unique features demonstrated by the combination of abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) and hormonal therapy, which will be presented at the upcoming 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting by lead author Mary-Ellen Taplin, MD, from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The study focused on the role of neoadjuvant hormonal therapy before radical prostatectomy in men with high-risk prostate cancer. Gomella explains that some work has been done in this area before, dating back to the 1990s. He explains that this trial is different because abiraterone acetate has the ability to drive testosterone levels down to a level that previously was not possible.

Not only do the LHRH analogs used in the trial affect testosterone levels but also abiraterone acetate, which inhibits androgen biosynthesis and lowers the levels of testosterone throughout the body to extremely low levels.

<<<

View more from the 2012 ASCO Conference