DEGARELIX

Summary

Degarelix is a parenterally administered gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist that rapidly blocks androgen production and is used to treat advanced prostate cancer ^[1]. A 12-month, randomized, open-label phase III trial showed degarelix was non-inferior to leuprolide at maintaining low testosterone and achieved significantly faster testosterone and PSA suppression with a distinct, immediate mechanism of action ^[3]. A randomized phase II neoadjuvant trial found degarelix plus apalutamide produced significantly better pathological tumor responses than degarelix plus placebo before radical prostatectomy ^[4]. A Cochrane systematic review noted degarelix likely increases injection-site pain versus standard androgen suppression and that longer-term, methodologically stronger trials in metastatic disease are still needed ^[2]. Degarelix is associated with therapy-related serum enzyme elevations but has not been linked to clinically apparent acute liver injury ^[1]. It is an FDA-approved prescription therapeutic with robust human RCT support.

Sources

1. 1. Degarelix , 2012.
2. 2. Degarelix for treating advanced hormone-sensitive prostate cancer The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2021.
3. 3. The efficacy and safety of degarelix: a 12-month, comparative, randomized, open-label, parallel-group phase III study in patients with prostate cancer BJU international, 2008.
4. 4. ARNEO: A Randomized Phase II Trial of Neoadjuvant Degarelix with or Without Apalutamide Prior to Radical Prostatectomy for High-risk Prostate Cancer European urology, 2023.

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