Radioactive 'Smart Bomb' targets Hard-to-Treat prostate cancer
NCT ID NCT05114746
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested a radioactive drug called 177Lu-PSMA-617 in 94 Japanese men with advanced prostate cancer that had spread and stopped responding to hormone therapy. The drug seeks out and delivers radiation directly to cancer cells. Researchers measured how well it shrank tumors and how safe it was. The goal is to offer a new treatment option for this aggressive form of prostate cancer.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- 177Lu-PSMA-617 (a radioactive drug that targets prostate cancer cells)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a new treatment option for men with advanced prostate cancer that has stopped responding to hormone therapy.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase study (Phase 2) with no comparison group, so results may not confirm effectiveness. Radioactive drugs can cause side effects like dry mouth, fatigue, and low blood counts.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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94 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jan 2022
- Finished
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Apr 2026
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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20 to 100 years
- Sex
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Male participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Key Inclusion Criteria: * ECOG performance status: 1. Post-taxane population only: 0 to 2. 2. Pre-taxane population only: 0 to 1. * Participants must have a previous histological, pathological, and/or cytological confirmation of prostate cancer. * Part 1/2/3 only; Participants must have a positive 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT scan, as determined by the sponsor's central reader, before the enrollment to 177Lu-PSMA-617 treatment period. * Participants must have a positive 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT scan, as determined by the local investigator, before the enrollment to 177Lu-PSMA-617 treatment period. * Participants must have a castrate level of serum/plasma testosterone (\<50 ng/dL or \<1.7 nmol/L). * Post-taxane population only: Participants must have received at least one ARDT (for example enzalutamide, abiraterone, apalutamide, or darolutamide, etc.) in either the hormone-sensitive/castrate-resistant or non-metastatic/metastatic prostate cancer setting. * Pre-taxane population only: Participants must have progressed only once on prior second generation ARDT (abiraterone, enzalutamide, darolutamide, or apalutamide) and be a candidate for change in ARDT as assessed by the treating physician. 1. first generation androgen receptor inhibitor therapy (e.g. bicalutamide) is allowed but not considered as prior ARDT therapy 2. second generation ARDT must be the most recent therapy received. * Post-taxane population only: Participants must have been previously treated with at least 1, but no more than 2 prior taxane regimens. A taxane regimen is defined as a minimum exposure of 2 cycles of a taxane. If a participant has received only 1 taxane regimen, the participant is eligible if : a. The participant's physician deems him unsuitable to receive a second taxane regimen (e.g., frailty assessed by geriatric or health status evaluation or intolerance, etc.). * Participants must have progressive mCRPC. Documented progressive mCRPC will be based on at least 1 of the following criteria: 1. Serum PSA progression defined as 2 consecutive increases in PSA over a previous reference value measured at least 1 week prior. 1.0 ng/mL is the minimal starting value if confirmed rise in PSA is the only indication of progression. 2. Soft-tissue progression defined as an increase \>= 20% in the sum of the diameter (SOD) (short axis for nodal lesions and long axis for non-nodal lesions) of all target lesions based on the smallest SOD since treatment started or the appearance of one or more new lesions. 3. Progression of bone disease: two new lesions; only positivity on the bone scan defines metastatic disease to bone (PCWG3 criteria, Scher et al 2016). * Part 1/2/3 only; Participants must have at least one measurable lesion per PCWG3-modified RECIST v1.1 on CT or MRI. Key Exclusion Criteria: * Previous treatment with any of the following within 6 months of the enrollment: Strontium-89, Samarium-153, Rhenium-186, Rhenium-188, Radium-223, hemi-body irradiation. Previous PSMA-targeted therapy is not allowed. * Post-taxane population: Any systemic anti-cancer therapy (e.g. chemotherapy, immunotherapy or biological therapy \[including monoclonal antibodies\], ARDT is not included) within 28 days prior to day of the enrollment. * Pre-taxane population: Prior treatment with PARP inhibitor, cytotoxic chemotherapy for castration resistant or castrate sensitive prostate cancer (e.g., taxanes, platinum, estramustine, vincristine, methotrexate, etc.), immunotherapy or biological therapy \[including monoclonal antibodies\]) \[Note: Taxane exposure (maximum 6 cycles) in the adjuvant or neoadjuvant setting is allowed if 12 months have elapsed since completion of this adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy\] * Known hypersensitivity to the components of 177Lu-PSMA-617, 68Ga-PSMA-11 or excipients or to drugs of similar classes. * Concurrent cytotoxic chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radioligand therapy, PARP inhibitors, biological, AKT inhibitors or investigational therapy. * Participants with a history of CNS metastases must have received therapy (surgery, radiotherapy, gamma knife) and be neurologically stable, asymptomatic, and not receiving corticosteroids for the purposes of maintaining neurologic integrity. * Symptomatic cord compression, or clinical or radiologic findings indicative of impending cord compression.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Novartis Investigative Site
Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8577, Japan
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Novartis Investigative Site
Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-8648, Japan
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Novartis Investigative Site
Kobe, Hyōgo, 6500047, Japan
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Novartis Investigative Site
Yokohama, Kanagawa, 236-0004, Japan
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Novartis Investigative Site
Chiba, 260-8717, Japan
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Novartis Investigative Site
Fukushima, 9601295, Japan
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Novartis Investigative Site
Ishikawa, 9208641, Japan
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Novartis Investigative Site
Kyoto, 6068507, Japan
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- New PET tracer aims to light up hidden cancer targets
- Can daily adaptive radiotherapy spare healthy tissue in prostate cancer?
- Can a radioactive tracer and MRI reveal prostate Cancer's true extent?
- Five-Fraction radiation plus hormone therapy tested against High-Risk prostate cancer
- Can a 10-Hour eating window fight cancer fatigue?