Is PROVENGE chemotherapy?

Because PROVENGE is not a chemotherapy drug you will not experience the common, sometimes difficult, side effects often seen in chemotherapy. It also is not a hormone therapy.

How much does PROVENGE treatment cost?

Each infusion of Provenge will cost $31,000, bringing the full cost of treatment for three infusions to $93,000. As the company put it, the drug will cost about $23,000 per month of life extension, based on the Phase III study that found the drug extended life by 4.1 months.

How long does PROVENGE take to work?

This process activates the patient’s immune cells to help the immune system better fight the disease. Provenge immunotherapy treatment typically takes one month to be administered, and is given in three intravenous infusions every two weeks.

How often is PROVENGE given?

PROVENGE is administered intravenously in a three-dose schedule at approximately two week intervals. Each dose is preceded by the leukapheresis procedure approximately three days prior to the scheduled treatment, and is administered only to the patient from whom the cells were obtained.

How successful is radium 223?

Median overall survival was 14.9 months for the men assigned to receive radium-223 and 11.3 months for those assigned to the placebo.

What is sipuleucel-T used for?

A vaccine used to treat prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. It is used in patients who have few or no symptoms and whose cancer is castration resistant (has not responded to treatments that lower testosterone levels).

How long does radium-223 extend life?

Evidence sinthesis: According to the ALSYMPCA study, Radium 223 significantly prolongs the overall survival of patients with castration resistant prostate cancer and bone metastases; approximately 3.6 months in comparison with patients who received placebo, which turns into a median life expectancy of 14.9 months, and …