The first cancer program in Brooklyn to offer PLUVICTO, an FDA-approved treatment
BROOKLYN, NY (Sept. 26, 2023) Maimonides Medical Center announced today that as a part of September’s Prostate Cancer Awareness Month campaign, it is the first cancer program in Brooklyn to introduce PLUVICTO – a breakthrough treatment for prostate cancer for those who have not responded to other treatments.
PLUVICTO is a radiopharmaceutical treatment for hormone-resistant metastatic prostate cancer offered at advanced radiation oncology practices. The drug targets PSMA, a protein found on the surface of most prostate cancer cells, which treatments such as chemotherapy cannot identify. In contrast, PLUVICTO seeks out and delivers a high dose of radiation directly to the areas of disease throughout the body but bypasses healthy cells. This can mean fewer side effects like nausea, vomiting, and hair loss, which are much more common with chemotherapy.
“Making this treatment accessible for metastatic prostate cancer patients is crucial, as it gives us the potential to extend survival among individuals who have been treated in more traditional routes, and have few therapeutic options left,” said Dr. David Berlach, Interim Chair of Radiation Oncology at the Maimonides Cancer Center, the only full-service prostate center in Brooklyn. “Using the latest diagnostic technologies and breakthrough therapies, our team of experts is known for achieving the best results and preserving the quality of life for our patients. We look forward to continuing to expand our cancer center’s offerings in new drug therapies that add to the benefits of traditional medicine treatments.”
PLUVICTO is typically given intravenously every six weeks for up to six treatments and is specifically for men who have been treated with other anticancer therapies including chemotherapy and hormonal therapies. Studies have shown that the treatment is more effective at delaying cancer progression and overall associated with better survival.
Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer among men in New York City, after skin cancer. It often grows slowly, with no symptoms in the early stages. According to the New York City Department of Health, the risk of dying from prostate cancer is higher for Black men than for White, Latino, or Asian men. Compared with White men, Black men are more likely to develop prostate cancer (around one in six will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in their life), and twice as likely to die from it, according to JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“Maimonides is committed to providing access to innovative, high-quality care in this borough to combat the socioeconomic barriers that often create racial inequities in health care,” said Dr. Berlach.
About Maimonides Health
Maimonides Health is Brooklyn’s largest healthcare system, with 2,000+ physicians serving over 350,000 patients each year through the system’s three hospitals and more than 80 community-based practices and outpatient centers. The system is anchored by Maimonides Medical Center, one of the nation’s largest independent teaching hospitals and home to centers of excellence in numerous specialties; Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital (formerly New York Community Hospital), a 130-bed adult medical-surgical hospital; and Maimonides Children’s Hospital, Brooklyn’s only children’s hospital and only pediatric trauma center. Maimonides’ clinical programs rank among the best in the country for patient outcomes, including its Heart and Vascular Institute, Neurosciences Institute, Bone and Joint Center, and Cancer Center. Maimonides is an affiliate of Northwell Health and a major clinical training site for SUNY Downstate College of Medicine.
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