New ‘take at home’ pill recommended for advanced prostate cancer

More than 40,000 people could benefit from a new oral hormone therapyfor people with certain types of prostate cancer.

The pill, relugolix (also known as orgovyx), has been recommended by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) today for advanced hormone sensitive prostate cancer.

The drug, which is given before or alongside radiotherapy, is the first oral treatment of its kind to be approved by NICE.

How does it work?

Relugolix is a type of hormone therapy called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).

Prostate cancer cells usually require specific kinds of hormones called androgen hormones, like testosterone, to grow.

ADT reduces the levels of these hormones to prevent the prostate cancer cells from growing. Relugolix lowers testosterone levels by blocking hormone production in the testes.

Hormone therapy on its own doesn't cure prostate cancer, but it can lower the risk of an early prostate cancer coming back when you have it with other treatments.

Hormone therapy is also a possible treatment for prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. This is called metastatic or advanced prostate cancer.

How effective is relugolix?

The NICE committee based their decision on evidence from the HERO trial.

In the trial, 622 men received relugolix as a once-daily pill, and 308 received another hormone therapy called leuprolide, given as an injection every 3 months.

Data from the trial suggests relugolix is better at reducing testosterone to levels that stop cancer growth in the longer term than leuprolide.

It also showed that relugolix reduces the risk of serious cardiovascular events, compared with leuprolide. An indirect treatment comparison suggests relugolix works as well as other ADTs.

"We are continuing to focus on what matters most to people by recommending this innovative and effective treatment that can make a positive difference to people with advanced prostate cancer," said Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at NICE.

"Relugolix provides a convenient and flexible treatment option compared with therapies that need to be injected, helping people to avoid travel and time off work and the evidence shows it can improve people's quality of life."

NICE decisions apply to England and are usually adopted in Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has a different process for deciding which drugs can be used on the NHS.

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