Picoplatin regimen cuts PSA by half in 78% of HRPC patients; Ph II study

The USA's Poniard Pharmaceuticals has reported positive incremental data from an ongoing Phase II trial of its lead drug candidate, the platinum-based cancer therapy picoplatin, plus docetaxel and prednisone, as first-line therapy for metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

Presented at a recent cancer conference in Geneva, Switzerland, the expanded and updated results continued to show that picoplatin can be safely administered with full-dose docetaxel and prednisone, the standard treatment for HRPC, with no neurotoxicity observed. In addition, reductions of prostate specific antigen levels of at least 50% were achieved in 78% of evaluable patients, while normalized PSA levels were achieved in 26%.

"These data are very encouraging as they suggest that picoplatin can be safely administered with full doses of docetaxel as first-line therapy in the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer," said E David Crawford, head of Urologic Oncology at the USA's University of Colorado Denver. "I believe these early Phase II results may potentially support a Phase III trial. A therapy with an improved safety and efficacy profile would be important for patients with advanced prostate cancer, who have a very poor prognosis and few effective treatment options," he added.