No timeline for new late-stage prostate cancer treatment in Manitoba
September of last year, Health Canada gave a new prostate cancer treatment approval for patients with advanced metastatic cases.
It's called PLUVICTO (lutetium (177lu) vipivotide tetraxetan injection) which uses a radioactive particle to attack a certain type of cancer protein. But doctors say there are hurdles ahead for eligible patients to access the treatment, as its approval is just step one.
Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in men. In 80 per cent of cases, the cancer cells have a surface protein called prostate-specific membrane antigen or PSMA. PSMA is the biomarker or target for PLUVICTO.
"I know that our nuclear medical physicians are extremely aware of this,” said Dr. Piotr Czaykowski, a medical oncologist at CancerCare Manitoba. “We have regular conversations with them about this. We know they're keen to try and implement this as soon as it’s something we can implement."
Czaykowski told CTV News this type of technology is already used in the province for a rare type of cancer called neuroendocrine tumour but getting PLUVICTO out to late-stage prostate cancer patients through the public system will take more time.
"Right now where this sits, is there are negotiations underway to establish a price and once that's in place then we have the opportunity to start trying to provide this," he said.
A provincial spokesperson tells CTV News, PLUVICTO has also received a positive recommendation from the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) but it still needs to undergo national negotiations through the panCanadian Pharmaceutical Alliance.
“Only after those negotiations are completed and an agreement is in place with the manufacturer, will Manitoba list the product in the oncology drug formulary,” reads the written statement.
Although it’s not available publicly, Canadians can choose to pay out of pocket for the treatment. At a private clinic in Burnaby, B.C., two patients received PLUVICTO treatments this week.
"The way we describe this is we see what we treat and we treat what we can see," said Dr. Philip Cohen, a nuclear medicine specialist and the medical director at INITIO Medical.
He said the price for the compound, whether being bought by the government or a patient, is $27,000 a dose.
"What I am hopeful for is, as more compounds will make it through the approval process, the cost will plummet and hopefully will become more affordable," said Cohen.
While optimistic for what nuclear treatments might be able to accomplish in the cancer realm, he points out another major issue that may make accessing this type of treatment difficult in Canada. A Positron Emission Tomography or PET scan is required to screen patients.
"There's probably an adequate number in Quebec but outside Quebec there's real limitations to access to pet scanners,” he said.
According to Shared Health there is only one PET scanner in Manitoba at Health Sciences Centre.
Czaykowski says while PLUVICTO is not a home run or a cure, it will be well worth offering to eligible late-stage prostate cancer patients.
"In the studies that have been done, and there was a large trial where half the patients got this therapy and the other half didn't, those who got the therapy lived about five months longer," he explained.
Adding, once there’s the science to support it, there is the potential for the agent to be used earlier during the course of treatment.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Demonstrators kicked out of Ontario legislature for disruption after failed keffiyeh vote
A group of demonstrators were kicked out of the legislature after a second NDP motion calling for unanimous consent to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh failed to pass.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
RCMP uncovers alleged plot by 2 Montreal men to illegally sell drones, equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a plot by two men in Montreal to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Government agrees to US$138.7M settlement over FBI's botching of Larry Nassar assault allegations
The U.S. Justice Department announced a US$138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest.
BREAKING Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.