Study: Erleada Demonstrates PSA Response and Increased Patient Adherence in Prostate Cancer

New data from two studies demonstrate robust prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response and strong adherence rates in patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with Janssen’s Erleada (apalutamide) in the real-world clinical setting, according to data released by Janssen. A strong PSA response was also seen in a separate post-hoc analysis that showed a correlation between rapid and deep PSA response and prolonged survival in both metastatic and non-metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer.

These findings were presented during two sessions at the virtual American Urological Association Annual Meeting.

In metastatic prostate cancer, the percentage of patients with a PSA decline of ≥50 percent or ≥90 percent was about three times higher for patients treated with Erleada plus androgen deprivation therapy compared with patients treated with androgen deprivation therapy alone.

For non-metastatic cancer, androgen deprivation therapy showed declines in PSA, including undetectable levels in some patients.

A separate study showed that Erleada plus androgen deprivation therapy demonstrated high treatment adherence, with >90 percent of patients adhering to therapy in both Black and non-Black subgroups.

Benjamin Lowentritt, M.D.

“These findings support the use of apalutamide in delaying disease progression and metastasis in patients with nmCRPC across various demographics,” lead investigator Benjamin Lowentritt, M.D., director prostate cancer care Program, Chesapeake Urology, said in a statement.

About 12.5% of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point during their lifetime, and it is the second leading cause of cancer death behind breast cancer, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The FDA approved Erleada in 2018 to treat patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and in 2019 for metastatic disease.