Abbott Laboratories said a preliminary study showed that its new
experimental drug to treat advanced prostate cancer "significantly delayed"
progression of the disease once it reaches the bone.

Researchers said data from two Phase II studies involving 419 men with
hormone-refractory prostate cancer showed that atrasentan, a pill taken once
daily, helped slow cancer progression for patients in the end-stage of the
disease, compared with patients not receiving the drug.

In one study, the drug slowed progression of the disease into patients'
bones by nearly 30 percent, compared with patients who did not take the
drug.

Joel Nelson, chairman of urology at the University of Pittsburgh and lead
investigator of the study, reported on the results at the annual American
Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in San Francisco

When prostate cancer metastasizes to the bone, it is usually very painful
and often deadly, so researchers view the human clinical trials involving
Abbott's ABT-627 as an important event in the battle against the disease.

Thus far, the studies have only looked at the drug's effects on the most
severely ill prostate cancer patients, for whom hormone therapy had failed.
Nelson expressed hope that when atrasentan is used earlier in the disease
process, it will have even greater impact.

This article is brought to you by the "Prostate Cancer Week" online
newsletter.
This newletter presents the latest news and views on developments in
Prostate Cancer , it is one of a family of specialized medical newsletters
brought to you by Medical Week, LLC.

http://www.***.com/