Neal Shore, MD of Carolina Urologic Research Center @UrologyUS on how the ProVent trial might change the AS treatment landscape.
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Dendreon Pharmaceuticals, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company and pioneer in the development of immunotherapy, announced early completion of patient enrollment of its Phase 3 ProVent clinical trial. More than 450 subjects were randomized in the large-scale clinical trial, which is evaluating the effectiveness of sipuleucel-T (PROVENGE®) in reducing disease progression in men with early-stage prostate cancer on active surveillance (AS).
“The rapid pace of enrollment in the ProVent trial is a significant milestone for Dendreon, and underscores a strong interest by patients and physicians in the potential clinical benefit of sipuleucel-T in men on AS,” said Bruce A. Brown, M.D., chief medical officer at Dendreon. “PROVENGE has been proven to extend life in men with mCRPC, and we intend to change the way prostate cancer is treated by showing that immunotherapy can reduce disease progression and the need for aggressive intervention in men with early-stage disease.”
Nearly 175,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year.1 Of these, about 30 to 40% with a lower risk of prostate cancer will opt for AS, which includes regular monitoring to assess whether the cancer is progressing, instead of more aggressive treatment options such as surgery or radiation.2,3
“For men with low-risk, localized prostate cancer, the option of AS is regularly recommended; however, variation in PSA monitoring and the anxiety of having a ‘cancer’ diagnosis causes many men to leave surveillance management and undergo interventional treatment,” said Neal D. Shore, M.D., FACS, ProVent principal investigator, medical director for the Carolina Urologic Research Center and a practicing urologist at Atlantic Urology Clinics in Myrtle Beach, S.C. “Both patients and physicians have desired a proactive therapy for appropriate AS patients in order to optimize their long-term outcomes. Given the numerous studies describing the effectiveness of sipuleucel-T immunotherapy for advanced prostate cancer, we are optimistic that data from ProVent may lead to the first-ever immunotherapy treatment option for men with early-stage prostate cancer.”
About the ProVent Trial
The randomized, multicenter Phase 3 ProVent trial is assessing the efficacy of sipuleucel-T in reducing histopathologic disease progression in men on AS. Men age 18 or older who have histologically-proven adenocarcinoma of the prostate diagnosed within 12 months of randomization were eligible to enroll in the study, which is being conducted at approximately 60 sites across the United States. Study participants were randomized 2:1 to receive sipuleucel-T or remain on AS.
