Drug for Deadly Prostate Cancer

from the BBC News Online

Scientists are hailing a new drug to treat aggressive prostate cancer as potentially the most significant advance in the field for 70 years.

Abiraterone could potentially treat up to 80 percent of patients with a deadly form of the disease resistant to currently available chemotherapy, they say.

The drug works by blocking the hormones which fuel the cancer. The Institute of Cancer Research hopes a simple pill form will be available in two to three years. An advanced clinical trial involving 1,200 patients around the world is currently under way, with more trials likely later this year.