New Drug Approved by the FDA for Treatment of Prostate Cancer

The new cancer treatment for prostate cancer that was just approved by the FDA is a very promising alternative to the other prostate cancer treatments such as chemotherapy. The new drug is called Provenge and its made by Dendreon Corp. Provenge even though it has been referred to as a vaccine actually is a treatment in which utilizes the body's own immune system in order to fight prostate cancer. Provenge doesn't prevent the disease, but instead is an immunotherapy that treats the disease. Immunotherapies like Provenge show great promise in the future of medical treatments for fighting many diseases such as cancer.

Experimental immunotherapies to treat other diseases are already being worked on, including neuroblastoma and melanoma both of which can be fatal.

Cancers are usually treated with surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Radiation and chemotherapy is to many patients worse than the disease itself, many patients have devastating medical side effects and undergo excruciating pain. Provenge and other immunotherapies offer another alternative treatment process, in which the body's own immune defense system attacks the cancer and destroys it without the extremely devastating side effects of chemotherapy.

Although for now the drug therapy is meant to be utilized as an addition to the already standard cancer treatment protocols and not meant to be used as a replacement for any of them. It does however show very promising effects and may one day be used in place of standard cancer treatments.

The new drug Provenge has shown in research studies to add approximately four months to the life expectancy of men suffering from advance stages of prostate cancer. Although this may not seem like a substantial increase, it is however longer in length than the only standard chemotherapy medication approved for men in this stage of prostate cancer. Medical professionals are encouraged that this new drug will show even greater promise if they give the drug in early stages of prostate cancer.

This new drug is extremely expensive however the benefits and promise that it holds is extraordinary. The cost is partially due to each course of Provenge that a person takes must be tailored to the person's immune system using a very time consuming process. Physicians will collect the patient's blood cells that cause the immune system to see cancer as a threat. The cells will then be mixed in a lab with a protein substance found in the majority of prostate cancer cells. As well as another additive that energizes the person's immune system. The tailored mixture or "vaccine" is then reintroduced back into the patient in three doses given over a specific length of time.

By comparison to other cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, Provenge side effects are said to be essentially mild such as fever, headache, chills and fatigue.

I have been a nurse for a long time and I truly believe in immunotherapies. It is widely known in the medical field that our body's come equipped with a great natural defense system. Over the years, I've seen alternative therapies work in healing many different medical conditions and Provenge in my opinion is a great start in the right direction for significant improvement in the treatment of cancer.

References for this article include: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/29/AR2010042902684.html
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100429/ap_on_he_me/us_fda_cancer_drug
news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/fda-approves-first-cancer-treatment-jab-20100502-u0oz.html