For those with early-stage prostate cancer – before it has started to spread – surgery alone is likely to provide a cure. Men with incurable prostate cancer have been offered hope of a longer life thanks to a drug that targets the disease's 'Achilles heel'. Olaparib is highly effective in men with hormone-resistant prostate cancer, as long as they also carry the BRCA genetic fault, or other genetic faults – a group that accounts for roughly one in ten of all prostate cancer patients. 'Prostate cancer often spreads to the bones, and on scans you'll see hundreds of tumours all over the body, like gunshots, in the shoulders, ribs, pelvis and spine, and legs. His prostate cancer was linked to a mutation known as PALB2, which means he was likely to respond well to olaparib.

Source: Daily Mail November 28, 2020 22:10 UTC