Xgeva delays bone metastases in prostate cancer patients

According to study results were presented at the 2011 annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA), among men with prostate cancer that has stopped responding to hormonal therapy, the bone drug Xgeva (denosumab) delayed the spread of cancer to the bones.

Xgeva is a bone drug that targets a protein known as the RANK ligand. This protein regulates the activity of osteoclasts (cells that break down bone). Xgeva has been approved for the prevention of bone complications such as fracture in patients with bone metastases from solid (not blood-related) cancers. Some research has suggested that Xgeva may also have anti-cancer effects in the bone. If this proves to be correct, it could provide an important benefit for patients with cancers that tend to spread to the bone, such as prostate and breast cancers.