Prostate Cancer
Based on Stats Canada approximately one in eight Canadian men are estimated to develop prostate cancer over their lifetime, while 1 in 30 men are expected to die from prostate cancer.
​
One in five men diagnosed with cancer have prostate cancer
Estimates suggest that just over 127,100 Canadian men will be diagnosed with a new cancer in 2024.
Just over one in five of these diagnoses were for prostate cancer, making it by far the leading cancer found among men.
Over four in five men who die from prostate cancer are aged 70 and older
In 2024, 27,900 men are expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, while 5,000 men are expected to die from prostate cancer. Most cases are diagnosed among men aged 50 and older, and 85% of prostate cancer deaths occur among men aged 70 and older.
Prostate cancer five-year net survival rate is approximately 100% at the first three stages
The good news is that when prostate cancer is diagnosed early, the prognosis is encouraging.
From 2010 to 2017, for example, over half of the prostate cancers (51%) diagnosed were at stage II, while 21% were at stage I.
The five-year net survival rate consistently approaches 100% among men diagnosed with prostate cancer at one of the first three stages but declines to 41% at stage IV.
​
Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer remains fatal despite recent advances. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is highly expressed in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Lutetium-177 (177Lu)–PSMA-617 is a radioligand therapy that delivers beta-particle radiation to PSMA-expressing cells and the surrounding microenvironment.
VISION was the first phase 3 trial of targeted radioligand therapy in patients with prostate cancer.
The PSMA-targeted radioligand 177Lu-PSMA-617 prolonged overall survival and delayed imaging-based progression when added to standard care in patients with PSMA-expressing metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Secondary efficacy outcomes also favored the addition of 177Lu-PSMA-617 to standard care. Treatment with 177Lu-PSMA-617 was associated with a low incidence of adverse events that led to dose reduction, interruption, or discontinuation, which is consistent with the safety profile in early-phase studies.
Treatment with 177Lu-PSMA-617 prolonged overall survival in a population of patients with disease that was refractory to androgen-receptor–pathway inhibitors (at least one regimen) and taxane chemotherapy (one or two regimens). Nearly all the enrolled patients (≥97%) had already received docetaxel, and 38% had already received cabazitaxel.
Based on the results of the VISON trial, PRRT (Pluvicto) was approved by FDA (March 2022) and Health Canada ( September 2022) for the treatment of mCRPC (Metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer) post progression on ARNI (Adrogen Receptor Antogonist ) and chemotherapy.
​