While the preliminary trial has shown that the drug can potentially shrink tumours in up to 80 per cent of cases suffering from the most lethal form of the disease, ‘more is still to come’, Lord Maginnis added.
The new drug, Abiraterone, works by blocking the cancerdefine hormones
define on which the cancer cells thrive, Johann de Bono, the lead researcher of drug tests that began at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London explained.
Prostate cancerdefine – the second leading cancer killer for men – affects over 680,000 men worldwide with killing over 200,000 annually.
Diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer during a minor procedure last December, Lord Maginnis, 70, the former Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP is currently undergoing treatment.
While the doctors believe that the drug can potentially prolong the lives of up to 10,000 British men each year, Lord Maginnis cautioned, "Any new treatment has got to be welcomed but we need to be cautious as well. We need to ask questions about exactly who this treatment will benefit and when it could be available."
"We must, however, mark the little steps towards better treatment rather than get too excited about big jumps," he added.
Meanwhile, Abiraterone currently under development by a US company called Cougar Biotechnology, the drug is expected to be in market by 2011.
Commonly affecting men over 50, prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system.
While early prostate cancer usually causes no symptoms, in latter stages the disease is typically characterized by frequent urination, blood in the urine, and painful urination.
Also affecting the sexual functioning, prostate cancer is associated with difficulty in achieving erection and painful ejaculation.
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