Dr. Luke Nordquist on Who Should Receive Radium-223

Luke Nordquist, MD, a urologic medical oncologist and CEO of the Urology Cancer Center and GU Research Network, discusses which patients may benefit from radium-223, those who should not receive the drug, and combinations that are being considered.

Radium-223 holds a lot of potential, and not just in prostate cancer, says Nordquist. Biologically, it should work in other types of cancer that also have bone metastases. It is being investigated in breast, bladder, and kidney cancer patients with bone metastases.

The drug should be given with caution to patients who have underlining bone marrow suppression from prior treatments or other causes, says Nordquist.

Abiraterone acetate (Zytiga), enzalutamide (Xtandi), sipuleucel-T (Provenge), and docetaxel are being explored in combination with radium-223. All of these are FDA-approved drugs for mCRPC, and they are all being explored either on clinical trials or even just in clinical practice, says Nordquist.