A cure for prostate cancer could be just years away after an encouraging world first clinical trial in Brisbane.
Doctors say the new treatment helps them target diseased cells more accurately, with fewer side effects than regular treatments.
Gary Bryant, 75, was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer in 2019.
He began chemotherapy but after years of treatments he started to receive end-of-life care.
“One day the oncologist down the coast just came in and said, ‘Look, I’m sorry, we’re going to stop the chemo because there’s nothing more we can do’,” Gary’s wife Mary Bryant said.
Mr Bryant was then asked to take part in a world-first trial of a new treatment for prostate cancer.
“This is an incredibly innovative agent,” oncologist Dr Aaron Hansen said.
The treatment uses targeted alpha therapy, where a GPS-like tracking system allows the agent to target only prostate cancer cells.
Once it has found and been absorbed into these cells, it drops a toxic payload of lead that releases radiation to kill the cancer.
So far the trial has seen great results stopping Mr Bryant’s cancer progression.
“The fact we are seeing at such early stages, disease control, it is incredibly encouraging,” Hansen said.
Mr Bryant said it has also granted him more time with his grandchildren.
“I want to see them grow up a bit older before I drop off the perch,” he said.
