Up-to-date insights on disease, treatment, and care based on real-world data from our full-stack healthcare analytics platform. 

The landscape of prostate cancer treatment is changing quickly. At least six new treatments have been approved for use since 2021, and research over the past decade has greatly reshaped patient treatment pathways for low-risk cases. While the majority of early-stage cancer were once tackled with chemo, surgery, or radiation, today, nearly 60% of men with low-risk prostate cancer now choose active surveillance over treatment.  

For prostate cancers diagnosed after they have spread, new therapeutic options aim to improve outcomes for patients with metastatic disease. One of these new treatments is a drug called enzalutamide, approved by the FDA this year for use in combination with talazoparib, a drug already used for breast and ovarian cancer patients who’ve tested positive for a BRCA gene mutation. 

Our analysis tracks the use of these hormonal medications, as well as the steep rise in the use of poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, beginning in 2019, after new approvals and a push for personalized precision medicine.

These evolving trends impact the patient journeys of millions of Americans: As the second most common cancer among American men, about 13% of men will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. An estimated 69% are diagnosed at a localized stage of disease, for which the prognosis is excellent: the five-year survival rate for local prostate cancer is 100%. For Stage IV cases in which the cancer has already spread, five-year survival drops to 34% — but recently approved treatments offer new promise. 

Our Fast Facts findings highlight just how quickly new drug approvals and treatment approaches can transform the healthcare journey of millions of patients. In tracking and delineating these changes, we hope to bring awareness and clarity to high-impact trends as they evolve. 

Read our prostate cancer Fast Facts here.

Read more about how male-centered clinical guidelines and a lack of provider awareness may be contributing to treatment delays among women experiencing heart attacks.

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