New Tool Predicts Outcomes of a Novel Treatment for Prostate Cancer
The mathematical formula can assist in clinical trial design and clinical decision making
Erica Tennenhouse, PhD, was the managing editor of Today's Clinical Lab (formerly Clinical Lab Manager) from 2018 to 2022. Erica is a freelance writer and has written for National Geographic, Scientific American, New Scientist, Science, and Discover.
ViewFull ProfileLearn about ourEditorial Policies.
A new prognostic tool can help predict outcomes of a novel targeted therapy in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The tool, described in a paper published in July 2021 in The Lancet Oncology, combines imaging and clinical data to assist physicians considering treating patients with Lutetium-177 prostate-specific membrane antigen (Lu-PSMA)—a novel targeted treatment for the disease.
To develop the tool, researchers screened 270 mCRPC patients who had received Lu-PSMA in previous clinical trials or via compassionate use. They used parameters like time since initial diagnosis, chemotherapy status, hemoglobin levels, and PSMA PET imaging characteristics to create a mathematical formula that estimates the risk of overall and progression-free survival for patients treated with Lu-PSMA and stratifies patients into either high-risk or low-risk groups.
According to the paper, patients identified by the tool as low risk had longer overall and progression-free survival than those classified as high risk. The researchers also created an online risk calculatorthat forecasts the probability of overall and progression-free survival in response to Lu-PSMA.
They conclude that the tool and online risk calculator can assist in clinical trial design and clinical decision making, but still require further validation via prospective clinical trials.