Fetal estrogen estetrol, also called E4, is being tested in the Netherlands as a treatment for advanced prostate cancer.
“E4 for the treatment of prostate cancer would offer a new and affordable option compared to current standard and new therapies. An important advantage of E4 is expected to be the avoidance of the hypoestrogenic side effects that occur with other types of testosterone-suppressing hormone therapy, including hot flushes and sweating, arthralgia, mood, sleep and cognition disturbances, and bone loss and fractures,” said Ellen Dutman, M.Sc., clinical research associate at Pantarhei Oncology BV in Zeist, the Netherlands, the company that is developing the drug.
“Furthermore, E4 treatment may not be as expensive as recently developed new prostate cancer therapies,” Dutman added.
“E4, a steroid produced by the human fetal liver during pregnancy only, is a potential candidate for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, both as a single entity and for combination treatment with hormone therapy,” she said.
“We expect that in the future, patients with advanced prostate cancer will have the opportunity to choose to be treated with E4, especially in combination with their current therapy,” Dutman said. “The addition of E4 will further improve the efficacy of their current therapy and have a positive impact on the quality of life of the patients.”