A brand new treatment for advanced prostate cancer has been given the green light to be used in Scotland, helping doctors fight the disease in a new way.
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) have approved the use of a novel hormonal therapy for men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, reports the Daily Record.
Joseph Woollcott, policy and health influencing manager at Prostate Cancer UK, said: "We are pleased by this decision, which will give men with advanced prostate cancer another life-extending treatment option.
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"This is particularly important for men who can't tolerate existing treatments and who would otherwise miss out on valuable additional time with their loved ones."
According to the NHS, prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer found in men, with 11,500 deaths in the UK each year. Apalutamide was another treatment that was considered for use to treat adults with prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.
This would be used alongside androgen deprivation therapy, and blocks the actions of testosterone and androgens, slowing down the growth of the cancer. The use of apalutamide has life-extending benefits, and was an alternative treatment option to docetaxel chemotherapy, which comes with some serious side effects.
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Another treatment that was approved recently, in January 2020, was abiraterone. The SMC said that in making its decision it also took into account a confidential discount offered by the manufacturers of the treatment which improves its cost-effectiveness.
So, what are the symptoms of prostate cancer? Read on below for further details.
Common prostate cancer symptoms
Most men with early prostate cancer don't display signs or symptoms. However, as the cancer progresses and the prostate grows larger, symptoms can begin to show, according to the NHS.
Symptoms of prostate cancer include:
- Frequent or urgent need to urinate (frequency)
- Getting up more than once a night to pee (nocturia)
- Difficulty starting to urinate
- Weak urine stream or a stream that stops and starts
- Dribbling at the end of urination
- Inability to completely empty the bladder
For more information on prostate cancer, visit the NHS Scotland website here for further details.
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