PLUVICTO Therapy
PLUVICTO Therapy for Metastatic Prostate Cancer
PLUVICTO Therapy
PLUVICTO Therapy for Metastatic Prostate Cancer
The Radiation Center of Greater Nashua is the first and only free-standing cancer center in the region to offer an innovative prostate cancer treatment for men with metastatic prostate cancer.
Used in theranostics treatment, PLUVICTO® is a targeted therapy for metastatic prostate cancer. It is the first FDA-approved targeted radioligand therapy available for PSMA-positive metastatic prostate cancer.
Metastatic prostate cancer is especially difficult to treat, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 38%. Over the past decade, the number of men diagnosed with metastatic prostate disease has increased. From 2015-2025, metastatic prostate cancer has increased annually by 2.6% in men younger than 55 years of age, 6% annually in men 55-69 years of age and 6.2% in men 70 years of age and older.
While PLUVICTO is not a cure for metastatic prostate cancer, it can give you a longer life and improved quality of life with reduced side effects.
What is PLUVICTO?
A theranostics treatment, PLUVICTO is a targeted therapy for metastatic prostate cancer that delivers radiation treatment directly to prostate-specific membrane antigen or PSMA-positive cancer cells. It is the first FDA-approved targeted radioligand therapy available for PSMA-positive metastatic prostate cancer. PSMA-positive metastatic prostate cancer is cancer that has spread to other parts of the body or metastasized.
PLUVICTO is a type of precision cancer therapy you receive through an injection. The drug travels throughout your body and targets cancer cells with the PSMA biomarker, a protein found on most prostate cancer cells. PLUVICTO treatment is given as 6 separate infusions and the infusions are about 6 to 8 weeks apart.
Who can have PLUVICTO?
To receive PLUVICTO, you must have metastatic prostate cancer that and tumors that overproduce the PSMA protein. You may be eligible to receive PLUVICTO treatment if your prostate cancer:
- Expresses PSMA on a PSMA PET/CT scan
- Has not responded to hormone treatment that lowers your testosterone
- Has spread to other parts of your body
How does PLUVICTO work?
Like many radiopharmaceuticals used in theranostics, PLUVICTO has 2 components: a drug that delivers the therapy to cancer cells and a radioactive particle that kills the cancer cells. According to the National Cancer Institute, the delivery vehicle in PLUVICTO is a drug that latches onto a protein called PSMA that is found at high levels on the surface of prostate cancer cells. The radioactive particle delivers radiation to kill the PSMA-expressing cells.
As a radiopharmaceutical – or heat-seeking missile – PLUVICTO searches out PSMA throughout the body, attaches to it and is absorbed by the cell. Once absorbed, PLUVICTO releases radiation that damages and kills cancer cells that are PSMA-positive and spares the healthy cells around it. These PSMA-positive cancer cells can be in bones, the liver, prostate, lungs or most areas where prostate cancer has spread.
What are the side effects of PLUVICTO?
All medications may cause side effects. However, you may have no side effects or only minor side effects. Overall, side effects of PLUVICTO may include:
- Change in taste
- Constipation
- Diarrhea, upset stomach and decreased appetite
- Dry mouth
- Feeling dizzy, tired or weak
- Headache
- Kidney dysfunction
- Low blood counts
- Stomach pain
- Weight loss
PLUVICTO is manufactured from Novartis that has developed patient friendly websites. For more information, please visit their informative websites:
- PLUVICTO (PLUVICTO Website)
- PLUVICTO FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
- RLT Institute (Novartis Website)
