Two major studies strengthen case for prostate cancer drug before chemotherapy

The results of a major phase III clinical trial have pioneering prostate cancer drug abiraterone significantly extends the lives of men with advanced prostate cancer if given before chemotherapy. The trial by the Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, could fill an “important gap” in previous evidence for abiraterone’s effectiveness pre-chemotherapy according to study lead Professor Johann de Bono.     It’s key finding was that men with advanced, aggressive prostate cancer lived more than four months longer on average if they received abiraterone before chemotherapy than if they did not. An earlier analysis, published in 2013,