May 01, 2010
The American Cancer Society’s Dr. Len Lichtenfield on Provenge & Prostate Cancer:
Summary: I’m crossing posting this piece from Dr. Len’s Cancer Blog http://www.cancer.org/aspx/blog/Comments.aspx?id=353
because it seems to me a very wise and balanced assessment of what Provenge means—and doesn’t mean—for patients, for Medicare and for society as a whole. I’ve highlighted some sentences, and inserted a few comments in italic. Many thanks to HealthBeat reader Greg Pawelski for calling attention to this piece.
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Today’s announcement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (FDA) that they approved Provenge for the treatment of advanced, hormone resistant prostate cancer is significant for several reasons, not the least of which that it offers new hope to men with advanced prostate cancer where progress in treatment has been very slow in coming.
Equally important, it closes the door on decades of unfulfilled hopes that tumor vaccines and immunotherapy would eventually play a significant role in cancer treatment. We now have a demonstrated success, which is especially important given the many near-misses that have occurred over the years. This reinforces for many the dream that one day we would be able turn on the body’s own defense mechanisms as one more approach to treat (or one day—perhaps—prevent) certain cancers.
As exciting as this announcement is, and with all of that hope it brings to patients, their families and the physicians who treat them, it is important that we keep this development in perspective for what it is: one small step in an otherwise complex and still difficult situation. It is not a miracle cure, especially for men with very advanced, symptomatic disease.
