There is some really good news for those of us who live in areas where The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends drug approvals. NICE has issued a final draft guidance recommending that men with hormone-relapsed prostate cancer (castrate resistant) that has metastasized and has been treated with docetaxel (chemotherapy) should be [...]
Fail First Therapy or Step Therapy has been a topic I have written about in prior posts. It is my considered opinion that as it works its way into the treatment protocols for advanced prostate cancer it will have nothing but a very negative result for our health and longevity. What is Fail First Therapy [...]
The makers of Enzalutamide (Xtandi), Astellas Pharma US, Inc and Medivation, Inc have begun a Phase 4 clinical trial known as PLATO. The study is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of continued treatment with enzalutamide (Xtandi) plus abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) and prednisone as compared to treatment with Zytiga and prednisone alone in men [...]
Step therapy (ST) has again reared its most ugly head in our prostate cancer world, to the detriment of us, prostate cancer survivors and only to the benefit of private insurance payers. So, what is this “creeping crud,” Step Therapy (aka as Fail First Therapy)? Simply, ST is when insurance companies decide, without sound medical [...]
On August 13, 2013 I wrote an important post about the terrible practice beginning to rear its head called step therapy. Step therapy is the practice of insurance companies requiring less expensive drugs be prescribed prior to more expensive ones despite the comparative efficacy of the drugs and their different mechanisms of action. This practice [...]