Asan Medical Centre introduces Pluvicto for prostate cancer treatment

The treatment received official marketing approval in South Korea from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety last May.

The Theranostics Centre of South Korea’s Asan Medical Centre (AMC) Cancer Institute has introduced Pluvicto, a targetted radiopharmaceutical developed by Novartis for prostate cancer treatment.

According to AMC, the treatment utilises the radioactive isotope lutetium, which selectively binds to the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) to destroy cancer cells.

Initially, a personalised PET/CT scan is conducted using a diagnostic radiopharmaceutical that binds to PSMA. If the scan confirms PSMA overexpression, Pluvicto is administered to the patient.

The treatment, which received official marketing approval in South Korea from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety last May, is a new alternative for prostate cancer patients who have not responded to androgen receptor pathway inhibition therapy and taxane-based chemotherapy.