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Prostate cancer treatment goes on PBS
Andriga-10, a treatment combining a medication for an aggressive form of prostate cancer with a steroid, is now listed on the PBS.
The treatment combines an existing PBS medication with a steroid to manage side effects.
A new script for advanced prostate cancer is now available on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), combining an existing treatment with a steroid to manage side effects.
Abiraterone acetate and prednisolone (sold as Andriga-10) has been listed to treat castration-resistant metastatic carcinoma of the prostate, an advanced stage of prostate cancer that continues to progress despite medical or surgical castration.
The oral abiraterone acetate medication, sold separately as Zytiga and listed on the PBS in 2013, works by blocking hormones that fuel cancer growth, with the prednisolone a steroid used to manage side effects.
Prednisolone is also listed separately on the PBS.
Making the announcement on Sunday, Dr Michael Cilento, an oncologist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, said he has been using these medicines for some time and ‘we know that they can be an entirely effective treatment for advanced prostate cancer’.
‘Now having the opportunity to prescribe this combination of tablets in one box on one script does add some extra convenience and choice for patients and their conditions,’ he said.
‘For those patients who are in a financially vulnerable position, getting your medicine in one script rather than two can ultimately help bring the cost down over time.’
Patients would pay an estimated $930 for the treatment without the PBS subsidy.
According to the Federal Government, more than 2200 patients used a comparable treatment through the PBS in 2024.
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PBS Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prostate cancer
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