availability of Zytiga

VascodaGama said:

Thanks and Welcome
Skippy

Thanks for the information.

Can you share your experiences with Zytiga?
Any symptoms?
How about outcomes?

Many here would appreciate to read about your history with PCa.

The best.
VG

VascodaGama said:

Looking for your Future Reports
It is wonderful to read reports about successful outcomes and yours is just great.
Zytiga is a wonder drug which development I have followed since 2007. It may be the drug that I will add to my hormonal protocol in future.
I only can image your full status but it is encouraging to read that one simple drug is giving you back a due quality of life. Another wonder drug that shows to cure/kill cancer metastasized in bone and relieves pain is Alpharadin . This is a newer drug “on-the-block” which just completed phase 3 trials with great success in treating prostate cancer. You may keep the name for future reference or need, if any.

I wish you continuous enjoyment in your T-offs and that Zytiga "zipps" the cancer out for good.

Thanks
VG

Kongo said:

Cure for Cancer?
I am glad that your experience with Zytiga thus far has been positive. The Zytiga abbreviated clinical trial that has all of the relevant data was for men who had already had chemotherapy. There is absolutely no data at all available for use of this drug on men with metastatic prostate cancer who are not post chemo. Perhaps this isn't important and as you point out there is a trial underway to assess the use of this drug on men who have not undergone chemotherapy but at this point, you're basically a human guinea pig running your own trial.

In the trial results I didn't read anything about Zytiga killing cancer cells. What it said was that men in the trial group that received Zytiga had an extended survival of four months on average over men in the placebo group. While this is great news for the men involved, it hardly seems to me that this is a "cure" for prostate cancer although it may indeed be a step forward in more effective drug technologies for prostate cancer that is androgen resistant. The average age of men in the study was 69.

To be fair, Zytiga comes with a long list of potential dangerous side effects, particularly for men with cardiovascular problems. Zytiga also MUST be taken with prednisone, which also carries a long list of potential adverse side effects. Men should study these side effects carefully before jumping on the Zytiga train, in my opinion. On the other hand, men who have metastatic prostate cancer after chemotherapy don't have too many choices left and the potential side effects may seem a lot less scary than death from prostate cancer.

Dr. Charles Myers (a urologist suffering from prostate cancer metastasis), whom many readers of this forum refer to frequently, is not a fan of Zytiga and feels that there are safer (and more fully tested) drugs available for this condition. You can see his short videos on the subject by perusing his online blog at: http://askdrmyers.wordpress.com/

As Vasco has suggested, posting your background with prostate cancer would be useful for men who may have a similar history as they try to decide on which course is best for them. I appreciate that you may not want to write about it and would prefer to dwell on the positive effects of Zytiga in your life but frankly, one without the other seems a bit disingenuous to me and seems more like a Zytiga commercial rather than a peer-to-peer exchange of information between men suffering from prostate cancer. Your call obviously.

K

VascodaGama said:

Zytiga is not for Everybody
Skippy

I may not be the right person to answer your above post. I have no medical enrolment. My knowledge is based on my researches and experiences along my journey.
You have erroneously taken my comment on Abiraterone as a sure cure of PCa, even in bone. Disclaim is set well by Kongo and I want to inform you that not all guys have benefited from the drug.

What I know about abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) is that it has been/is on several trials and that midterm reports shown success in all application. Is it taken as a substitute of antiandrogens in the typical HT protocol or as a second-line HT comparing with ketoconazole, or in hormone resistant cases before chemotherapy or thereafter. Some other drugs which have been developed for specific treatments have also shown better results when taken together with abiraterone, etc., etc.
However, this is a drug that is not for every patient. It got its pitfalls and risks which requires attention to details in use.

Abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) pertains in the group of targeted medications which has been revolutionizing the way on “how to treat”. These are drugs being tailored at the DNA to each particular illness (meaning that they can better address the problem presented by the cancer), but they should be administered under the monitoring of proper clinics.
The drug is used in a series of trials which list you can see in this link;
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=abiraterone+acetate

Zytiga inhibits the enzyme CYP17 (17α-hydroxylase/C17,20 lyase) that has a role in the synthesis of androgens (testosterone and estrogens). This inhibits a protein (cytochrome p450) involved in intratumoral testosterone production.
The principle is to stop feeding testosterone to cancerous cells, “killing” them by starvation. Surely this is valid in cases that respond to hormonal manipulations (not chemo manipulations).
In the process, one can expect that many cells dye but not all cancer depends on testosterone and some mutate to live with other means. Those become aggressive to treatments and propagate uncontrolled. At first signal of refractory, doctors usually increase the dosage or substitute the drugs by others of similar category.

Other drugs of the same group on trials with similar results are, namely; MDV-3100, TOK-001 and Orteronel. You can search for details at; www.clinicaltrials.gov

There are many sites explaining about Zytiga and its side effects. Because it was approved for use after failed chemo, some doctors are prescribing it “off-label”. I read the stories of guys on the drug who have not been on chemo like you.
In Wikipedia site (recently edited) they have an easy to understand explanation on the drug’s mechanism of action as follows;

“Abiraterone inhibits 17 α-hydroxylase/C17,20 lyase (CYP17A1), an enzyme which is expressed in testicular, adrenal, and prostatic tumor tissues. CYP17 catalyzes two sequential reactions: (a) the conversion of pregnenolone and progesterone to their 17-α-hydroxy derivatives by its 17 α-hydroxylase activity, and (b) the subsequent formation of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and androstenedione, respectively, by its C17,20 lyase activity.[6] DHEA and androstenedione are androgens and precursors of testosterone. Inhibition of CYP17 activity by abiraterone thus decreases circulating levels of testosterone”.

I am confident that abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) in a cocktail with other drugs addressing bone metastases (such as Xgeva) may care your case better. You should discuss such possibility with your doctor because Zytiga interacts with other medicines which may turn out to be prohibitive.

In any event, you can expect long periods on the effectiveness of the drug, before moving into a different drug (maybe Orteronel), and surely you will live many years to see your daughters married and their kids.

Wishing you continuous good outcomes.

VGama