READ MORE: Thousands of men risk being condemned to an avoidable death See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy ZOE HARDY, HEALTH REPORTER Published: 13:00 BST, 31 May 2026 | Updated: 13:00 BST, 31 May 2026
Thousands of men with advanced prostate cancer could soon live longer thanks to a treatment which cuts the risk of the disease returning by nearly a third.For many diagnosed with the disease, removing the prostate is a powerful intervention. However, in around half of cases the cancer returns.Standard treatment involves drugs that reduce how much of the male sex hormone testosterone the body produces. Collectively, these are known as androgen deprivation therapy, or ADT. Many prostate cancers rely on testosterone to grow, so cutting off that supply can slow or shrink tumours.Now US researchers have published findings showing that men who receive apalutamide alongside standard ADT live longer, healthier lives.Apalutamide, also known by its brand name Erleada, is one of a new wave of drugs that work by blocking testosterone from fuelling tumour cells.Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology, experts welcomed the findings, saying the drug ‘clearly improves outcomes in surgical patients at high risk of relapse’.Results from the phase 3 PROTEUS trial suggest that adding apalutamide to standard ADT can significantly delay progression in men with high-risk prostate cancer.
