Private MD News

Nitroglycerin may aid in the treatment of prostate cancer

Category: Prostate

A recent phase 2 study has found that a very low dose of nitroglycerin may be able to help slow or even stop the progression of prostate cancer without the harsh side effects associated with current treatments.

In the study, Queen's University researchers targeted 29 men with increasing levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) following prostate surgery. Each patient was treated with a low-dose slow-release nitroglycerin skin patch.

After the therapy was complete, all but one of the 17 patients who completed the treatment cycle showed a decrease or stabilization in the rate of cancer progression.

"This peer-reviewed research is our first clear clinical evidence that low-dose nitric oxide therapy offers prostate cancer patients a new non-invasive treatment option," said Robert Bender, CEO of Nometics, which is developing products based on this and related research.

"It is our intention to start broader clinical trials in 2010 to confirm and expand these results," he added.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in American men. Approximately 200,000 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed each year.