Dr. Sartor on Provenge in Combination with Radium-223

Oliver Sartor, MD, board professor, cancer research, Tulane University, discusses a trial that would study Provenge (sipuleucel-T) in combination with radium-223 as a potential treatment option for patients with prostate cancer.

Sartor says the companies that develop the drugs have agreed on a trial design. The trial will be small and have immunologic endpoints to help physicians better understand the mechanisms of action behind combining radiation therapy and immunotherapy.

Researchers hypothesize that radiation may be able to induce epitopes that can trigger better immune responses, Sartor says. There is good preclinical data that suggests that radiation and immunotherapy may have interesting interplay.