New prostate cancer therapy provides hope

Patients nearing the end of the prostate cancer journey now have renewed hope thanks to a new type of therapy recently approved after clinical trials.

Pluvicto, a new type of radioactive therapy, is being offered to patients who’ve exhausted all other options and results are proving to be promising.

“Pluvicto is a beta emitter radioactive therapy for patients who have advanced prostate cancer,” said Stacey Schmitz, nuclear medicine technical specialist at Marshfield Medical Center in Marshfield. “Patients who’ve already been through hormone therapy and chemotherapy but still have progression of the disease may find this to be another option when they may think there are no options left.”

Targeted prostate cancer therapy

Pluvicto is an incredibly targeted therapy.

“We do a PET/CT imaging study where we inject patients with a radioactive material that goes to certain receptors found on most prostate cancer cells,” Schmitz said. “If those cells light up for us on the scan, then Pluvicto will go to the exact same cells, exact same receptors. 80-90% of prostate cancers have these receptors. We know that whatever we see on the scan is what we’re going to treat.”

Drug trials allowed access to Pluvicto at Marshfield Clinic Health System – ahead of other health care organizations. This has allowed the Health System to continue getting the therapy, even while it’s in short supply.

“We are very excited about how it’s been working,” Schmitz said. ”Many patients have had a good response. Pluvicto has much fewer and less severe side effects than hormonal or chemotherapy options and most patients are handling it very well.”

Almost all patients also report an improvement in their prostate cancer symptoms, specifically less pain. While this may not cure them, Schmitz says it can prolong their lives and improve the quality of those lives.

Talk to your health care provider to see if this therapy might be right for you.