GTx, Inc. (Nasdaq: GTXI) has conducted a number of clinical trials using toremifene citrate in both the treatment of breast and prostate cancer. Older women and men as well as women and men being treated for both breast and prostate cancers are subject to bone loss leading to an increased risk of falls and fractures.
Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) escalates the rate of bone loss in men as it “turns off” the production of testosterone. Toremifene is an experimental drug which is hoped will slow down the loss of bone mineral density. In an on-going phase III trial being conducted to evaluate toremifene’s ability to protect bones against loss, there has been an unexpected result. Perliminary results show that toremifene might have the ability to slow down PSA progression in men being treated for advanced prostate cancer.
Among men in the treatment population with a detectable PSA (PSA ? 1 ng/ml) at baseline (n=419), significantly fewer men treated with toremifene 80 mg had PSA progression over time compared to men taking placebo (27% versus 37%, respec