Prostate cancer is the fourth most common cancer affecting Malaysian men, with rates expected to escalate in the coming years, but a new treatment for prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic) is showing promise that might lead to reduction in tumour burden without severe side effects, even in men who previously have received many other lines of treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy.
Prostate‐specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a receptor on the surface of prostate cancer cells that is revolutionizing the way consultants image and treat men with prostate cancer. New small molecular peptides with high‐binding affinity for the PSMA receptor have allowed high quality, highly specific PET/CT imaging, in addition to the development of targeted radionuclide therapy for men with prostate cancer.
This targeted therapy for advanced prostate cancer has, to date, predominantly used Lutetium-177 (177Lu) labeled PSMA peptides. Early clinical studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of 177Lu-PSMA therapy have demonstrated promising results with a significant proportion of men with advanced metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer, who have already failed other therapies, responding clinically to 177Lu-PSMA.
