VANTAS - understanding prostate cancer

Know the basics of prostate health

Understanding prostate cancer

Prostate cancer invades the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system located at the base of the bladder. The prostate is about the size of a walnut and is responsible for producing semen, which transports sperm during male orgasm.

Cancer develops when cells in a part of the body grow out of control. Unlike normal cells that have a life cycle of growth, division, and death, cancer cells live for a long time and breed other cancer cells. Most cancers form as a tumor in one body part or organ and can travel to other parts of the body where they may continue to grow and replace normal cells. This process is called metastasis.

Important Safety Information

VANTAS is contraindicated in women, pediatric patients and patients with hypersensitivity to GnRH, GnRH agonist analogs, or any of the other components of VANTAS.

VANTAS, like other LHRH agonists, causes a transient increase in serum concentrations of testosterone during the first week of treatment. Patients may experience worsening of symptoms or onset of new symptoms, including bone pain, neuropathy, hematuria, or ureteral or bladder outlet obstruction, cases of ureteral obstruction and spinal cord compression. Patients with metastatic vertebral lesions and/or with urinary tract obstruction should be closely observed during the first few weeks of therapy.

Implant insertion and removal is a surgical procedure and should use aseptic technique. Careful adherence to the recommended insertion and removal procedures is recommended. In all clinical trials combined, an implant was not recovered in 8 patients, 2 of these 8 patients had serum testosterone levels above castrate level and the implant was not visualized with ultrasound. In all of the 8 patients, the implant was not palpable.

Response to VANTAS should be monitored measuring serum concentrations of testosterone and PSA periodically.

In clinical trials, the most common adverse reactions were hot flashes, fatigue, and implant site reaction. During post-marketing surveillance, rare cases of pituitary apoplexy have been reported after the administration of GnRH agonists.

Know the basics of prostate health

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Important Safety Information