THURSDAY, May 20, 2004 (HealthDayNews) --
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the long-used breast cancer drug Taxotere (docetaxel) in combination with another drug to treat advanced prostate cancer.
Clinical trials involving more than 1,000 men with prostate cancer that didn't respond to traditional hormonal therapy found that users of Taxotere combined with the steroidal drug prednisone lived an average of 2.5 months longer than those on the traditional regimen.
Taxotere works by inhibiting tubulin, a protein that encourages cancer cells to divide and reproduce. Side effects may include nausea, hair loss, fluid retention and tingling sensations in the extremities.
About 230,900 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year, the American Cancer Society estimates, and about 29,900 men will die.
Visit the society to learn more about prostate cancer.
