A new pill to treat advanced hormone sensitive prostate cancer has been recommended in final draft guidance by NICE, and could benefit more than 40,000 people.
Made by Accord, Relugolix, also known by Orgovyx, is the first oral treatment of its kind to be approved by NICE.
The drug is an androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), but unlike other hormone treatments, which are usually administered by injection, Relugolix is taken as a tablet. This means that people now have the option to treat themselves at home.
Helen Knight, Director of Medicines Evaluation at NICE, said: “We are continuing to focus on what matters most to people by recommending this innovative and effective treatment that can make a positive difference to people with advanced prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer cells usually require androgen (male) hormones to grow, such as testosterone. ADT reduces the levels of androgen hormones to prevent the prostate cancer cells from growing.
Relugolix achieves this by blocking the production of testosterone. Clinical trial evidence suggests that over the long term Relugolix is better at reducing testosterone levels to stop cancer growth than leuprolide, while also better mitigating the risk of serious cardiovascular events.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with around 51,000 new cases in England in 2022.
The new treatment will be available within three months of the publication of NICE’s final guidance.
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