Prostate Cancer, according to the World Cancer Research Fund, is not only one of the most common malignancy in men, but also one of the most commonly occurring cancer overall. The incidence of prostate cancer increases proportionally with age, especially in men above 60 years of age.
For advanced prostate cancer patients or metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients, conventional treatment modalities, such as surgery, chemotherapy etc. might not prove to be highly effective in terms of controlling the spread of the cancer. This is where Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging are playing an important part in the management of cancer and that too in a personalized manner.
Several nuclear medicine clinics around world have confirmed that there is now a new hope for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients – Targeted Alpha Therapy of Alpha PSMA Therapy using radiolabeled PSMA inhibitors or alpha-emitting radioisotopes, such as 225Ac.
A NEW BEGINNING:
The treatment of metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) using chemotherapy agents of often short-lived and also incomplete. The over-expression of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) in metastatic prostate cancer patients has proven to be a suitable target for imaging and therapy. Moreover, the 225Ac labeled derivative – 225Ac-PSMA-617, has shown remarkable therapeutic efficacy, especially in metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients. And this was visible in a recently concluded study with a treatment group that comprised patients who relapsed after the initial therapy and presented with metastatic prostate carcinoma – 224Ac-PSMA-617 is definitely more effective for chemotherapy naïve metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients.
While the treatment of metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is still evolving, this study has definitely marked a new beginning in the cancer’s treatment.
WHAT IS ALPHA PSMA THERAPY?
Alpha PSMA Therapy, to put in simpler terms, is a selective and targeted internal medicine cellular level radiotherapy that is administered to control advanced prostate and prostate cancer. The therapy uses alpha-emitting radioisotopes, such as 225Ac to control the cancer. It is completely safe and an effective therapy with minimal side effects.
ALPHA PSMA THERAPY USING 225Ac-PSMA-617 AT FORTIS MEMORIAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE (FMRI):
Fortis Memorial Research Institute’s Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging has been the pioneer of Targeted Alpha PSMA Therapy both in India and Asia as well. The centre is currently the only centre that offers this therapy in India and has completed 50 treatment cycles. The team of doctors at the centre is extremely excited with the initial results of each therapy cycle where post therapy, most of the patients have experienced a remarkable improvement in their quality of life because of reduced symptoms and pain. Apart from this, an associated biochemical response with a fall in serum PSA levels was observed that indicates reduced tumor burden in the body. Actually, most of the patients have also shown a prolonged duration of response with some of them being in near-complete biochemical and clinical remission for over a year.
Further, to understand the efficacy of Alpha PSMA Therapy better, the team at the centre performed Ga68 PSMA scans before each cycle and have had some extremely encouraging results. The scans have shown a nearly 70% reduction in tumor size in a single cycle in some of the patients.
A key factor that ensures the efficacy of Alpha PSMA Therapy in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer or metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is the quality of the radioisotope used. The centre assures that the highest standards of quality are maintained at every level and it sources the radioisotope (225Ac) from Mssrs ITG Germany that has the approval from the European Medicines Association as wells as the Indian Pharmacopia.
The highly purified peptides are sourced from ABX Germany. The labelling of 225Ac with the peptide is done in-house.
For more information on the efficacy of Alpha PSMA Therapy using 225Ac-PSMA-617 , Visit Nuclear Medicine Therapy or do call us at +91 98111 27080 or write to us at info@nuclearmedicinetherapy.in.