Medicine

Radioactive drug shows promise for early-stage metastatic prostate cancer

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Prostate cancerRadioligand therapy

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Lutetium-177 (177Lu)-PSMA-617 is a radioligand therapy that targets prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) and delivers beta-particle radiation to cancer cells. The treatment was initially approved in 2022 based on the phase 3 VISION trial for patients with PSMA-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who had already progressed on androgen receptor pathway inhibitors and taxane chemotherapy. This commentary discusses the potential use of this therapy in earlier disease stages, specifically in metastatic androgen pathway modulator-sensitive prostate cancer.


Expanding the use of 177Lu-PSMA-617 to earlier stages of metastatic prostate cancer could potentially improve outcomes for patients before they develop resistance to standard hormone therapies. This shift in treatment timing represents a significant change in therapeutic strategy that may alter disease progression and patient survival.


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Prostate cancer Concept coming soon Radioligand therapy Concept coming soon

Lutetium-177 (177Lu)-PSMA-617 is a radioligand therapy that targets prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) and delivers β-particle radiation to PSMA-expressing cells and the surrounding tumour microenvironment.1 177Lu-PSMA-617 was initially approved in 2022, based on the results of the phase 3 VISION trial1 in patients with PSMA-positive metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (or metastatic androgen pathway modulator-resistant prostate cancer (APMR) according to the recently updated Prostate Cancer Working Group 4 (PCWG4) nomenclature)2 who had progressed on at least one previous androgen receptor pathway inhibitor (ARPI) and one to two taxanes.

Source: [Comment] [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 in metastatic androgen pathway modulator-sensitive prostate cancer