A major UK clinical trial coordinated by the CRUK & UCL Cancer Trials Centre will test whether men with advanced prostate cancer can take a lower dose of a hormone therapy drug and still have the same chance of survival, while experiencing fewer side effects.
Funded by Cancer Research UK and Prostate Cancer UK, the ENHANCE study will recruit 1,500 men with advanced prostate cancer from hospitals across the UK to compare standard and half-dose treatment using four commonly prescribed hormone drugs.
Professor Allan Hackshaw, CTC director and joint-lead investigator for the study, said: “Although focus is often on cancer trials to improve survival, we also need to find more tolerable ways of treating cancer without compromising survival. Side effects of cancer therapies matter a lot to patients, especially when they are frequent.
“We believe that several modern cancer drugs can be given at a much lower dose than what they were licensed for. Not only would this improve patient's quality of life, but healthcare costs would be lower allowing more access especially in countries that cannot afford these drugs at their current high dose. The ENHANCE study can therefore influence clinical practice worldwide.
“Furthermore, Black men are more likely to get prostate cancer, and they too suffer from the same side effects of hormone treatment. They are often under-represented in clinical trials, so the ENHANCE study is a good opportunity to show that they get the same benefits from lowering the treatment dose as other ethnic groups.”