This decision to submit a regulatory dossier was based on an analysis of the first results from the bicalutamide 150mg (Casodex) Early Prostate Cancer (EPC) Programme. Results from the Study 24, one the three studies forming part of Casodex™ (EPC) Programme, will be presented on Sunday, April 8, at the European Association of Urology meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

With over 8,000 male patients in 23 countries^* aged 38 to 93 years, the Casodex™ EPC Programme is the largest ever randomised clinical trial conducted in prostate cancer. It was set up to examine whether adding Casodex™ 150mg immediately to standard care (watchful waiting, radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy) could reduce the risk of disease progression and improve survival when compared to standard care alone.

Despite an increase in public awareness and screening, prostate cancer does not have the same level of public recognition as other forms of cancer, such as breast cancer. And yet it is the second most commonly diagnosed male cancer in many western countries, after lung cancer  [1].

Over 18,500 men, in the UK alone, are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and this condition has overtaken cancer of the large bowel to become the second commonest cancer for men in the UK  [2].

In 2000, Casodex’s™ worldwide sales of $433m showed a 31 per cent increase compared to the previous year. Casodex™ is one of five important AstraZeneca products, whose growth is being fuelled by life cycle initiatives.