Once we have failed docetaxel therapy (chemo therapy) we have very few options available to control advanced prostate cancer. There is a recnt report about a clinical trial using a new potential drug, Patupilone. Patupilone has shown some evidence that it exhibits a limited positive effect in the pre-clinical setting in taxane resistant models of prostate cancer, meaning prostate cancer that does not respond or no longer responds to taxotere therapy.
Patupilone belongs to a new class of agents that works by preventing the growth of cancer cells. Patupilone kills cancer cells by attacking the cell’s internal structures, microtubules. Microtubules have many functions in cells, including forming an internal type of skeleton at the cellular l