The ENZA-p trial, led by the Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP), enrolled its first patient at Austin Health in Melbourne this week. The trial is being led by Associate Professor Louise Emmett from St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney.
Prostate cancer remains the commonest cancer and the second commonest cause of cancer-related death in Australian men. The new randomized phase 2 study aims to compare the effectiveness of enzalutamide in combination with Lutetium-177 PSMA, versus enzalutamide alone, for the treatment of prostate cancer.
Enzalutamide is a potent hormone therapy that prevents testosterone from reaching prostate cancer cells, thereby stopping cancer growth. It is already widely used in men with prostate cancer that has stopped responding to standard hormone treatments (castration-resistant prostate cancer). However, most cancers become resistant to enzalutamide over time, with almost 1 in 4 being resistant from the start of treatment.
Many prostate cancers, in particular those that have spread or become resistant to hormonal therapies, have a substance on their cell surface called prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA).
Lutetium-177 PSMA (Lu-PSMA for short) is a new treatment in advanced prostate cancer. Lu-PSMA is a radioactive molecule that attaches to the surface of prostate cancer cells throughout the body.
The ENZA-p trial aims to determine if adding Lu-PSMA to enzalutamide overcomes resistance to treatment and prolongs treatment responses.
“This trial has grown from the best Australian science and scientists working with the best clinicians and with the wider community. Together the team has built upon previous successes and have come up with a trial that we hope will help answer a very important question about how best to treat men with prostate cancer,” said ANZUP Chair, Professor Ian Davis.
“The ENZA-p trial is an exciting leap forward, building on recent work by ANZUP in Lu-PSMA therapy for metastatic prostate cancer, and advances in science, to evaluate treatments that work better in combination. The ENZA-p trial will evaluate whether adding Lu-PSMA to enzalutamide overcomes treatment resistance in men with metastatic prostate cancer, deepening and prolonging treatment response, and improving quality of life. We couldn't find a better team to be working on this problem. Thanks, ANZUP!,” says Study Chair Associate Professor Louise Emmett.The first patient enrolled marks the start of the journey to recruit and follow up 160 eligible patients across 12 cancer centers across Australia.
Source: "First Patient Enrolled in Australia in Prostate Cancer Trial," ANZUP Cancer Trials Group, August 17, 2020