The FDA was given the okay by their panel of advisors to approve the drug Provenge, an immunotherapy that stimulates the immune system to help fight cancer cells.
The drug is designed for patients with metastatic prostate cancer who stop responding to hormonal therapy. The drug triggers the immune system to recognize a particular protein that is found on about 95 percent of all prostate cancer cells. When the immune system identifies the protein, it attacks the cancer cells.
The drug has shown in two previous trials that it increases survival in patients that have prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.
