Introduction
Apalutamide (trade name: Erleada) has been approved in Germany since January 2019 for the treatment of non-metastatic prostate cancer if the standard treatment with hormone blockers is no longer effective. In January 2020 it was also approved for the treatment of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.
In metastatic prostate cancer, the tumor has already spread to other parts of the body and complete recovery is no longer possible. The cancer cells need male sex (androgens) to grow. The main androgen is testosterone. If the body’s production of androgens is inhibited ("blocked") by medication, the tumor growth can be slowed down. If the cancer cells react sensitively to such hormone blockers, the prostate cancer is said to be “hormone-sensitive.”
The hormone blocker apalutamide is used to try to slow the growth of the cancer cells and kill the tumor tissue.