* FDA-approved in 1985, the first GnRHa for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. 2
† GnRHa=gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist.
Dr Spitz discusses the well-established efficacy and safety profile of LUPRON DEPOT, his own experience researching the 6-month dose, delivery device features, and more.
TRANSCRIPTDr Aaron Spitz is a board-certified urologist at Orange County Urology Associates and has been practicing urology for over 21 years.
He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University. He received his MD from Weill Cornell Medical College in 1992. He completed a fellowship in Male Reproductive Medicine and Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in 1998. He served as an assistant professor of Urology at UC Irvine Department of Urology where he provided andrology and infertility training to the residency program. He is the director of male reproductive medicine at Orange County Urology Associates in Orange County, California where he has served as principal investigator for various clinical trials. Dr Spitz serves as the Chair of the American Urological Association Telehealth Task Force.
“Hi, I’m Dr Aaron Spitz. I’m a urologist at Orange County Urology Associates, and I’ve been prescribing LUPRON DEPOT as my first choice for the treatment of patients with advanced prostate cancer for 23 years.
When a patient of mine needs an ADT for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, my first consideration is how appropriate the treatment is for that individual patient.
Of course, it has to be proven to work in clinical trials and in clinical practice, and it has to have an established safety profile. For my patients, it should also have multiple in-office dosing options to meet my individual patients’ needs—and so we can schedule regular monitoring.
It also has to be efficient and practical for my office to stock and administer—because that can affect the experience my patients will have while in my care, as well. LUPRON DEPOT fits all of these criteria and has done so for a long time. It’s the most prescribed ADT in my practice.
Patients with advanced prostate cancer can feel empowered when their treatment plan is guided by experience and expertise. We physicians empower our patients with the confidence they can place in our care and in the ADT we select.
For over 30 years, LUPRON DEPOT has been a market leader in ADT. It’s been a pioneer in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer by creating multiple dosing options and by developing delivery system innovations. This commitment, combined with decades of experience in using LUPRON DEPOT in my practice, continues to reinforce my confidence in prescribing it as my first choice for patients with advanced prostate cancer.
LUPRON DEPOT was the first to develop and demonstrate efficacy in 1-month, 3-month, and 4-month doses, and later a 6-month dosing option as well. While I have prescribed all dosing options, the 6-month dose is frequently prescribed in my practice.
I have a great deal of experience in the development of the 6-month dose: I participated as a researcher in the clinical trials for LUPRON DEPOT, and I was the lead author of an article published in the journal Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases, which discussed the results of one trial.
In an open-label, noncomparative, multicenter study, LUPRON DEPOT demonstrated efficacy of the 6-month dose in achieving testosterone suppression at or below castrate levels for over 93% of patients from week 4 to week 48. It’s important to note that LUPRON DEPOT causes an initial increase in serum testosterone during the first weeks of treatment that may result in transient worsening of symptoms.
I have seen firsthand the benefit of the 6-month dose for certain patients in my practice. I had a patient who was fairly active into his 80s, traveling around for events where he walked to support several organizations. While this patient’s level of activity was unique, the option of getting his injections every 6 months allowed us to schedule his injections to accommodate his schedule and keep him compliant.
In many ways, the innovative delivery system that LUPRON DEPOT provides is appreciated, especially by our staff. Its design keeps both my team’s and the patient’s experience in mind.
It comes in a complete injection kit that includes a prefilled dual-chamber syringe, so there’s no external mixing required. It doesn’t have to be refrigerated, so it doesn’t take time to warm up before use, and the LuproLoc® safety device protects against accidental needlesticks. Plus, all doses have a fine, 23-gauge intramuscular needle.
In my experience, having everything my staff needs in a kit that’s ready to administer without delay helps make the process quick and efficient—and that’s something our patients value as well.”
Dr Lowentritt describes his experience with LUPRON DEPOT, along with the importance of testing for testosterone in addition to PSA.
TRANSCRIPTDr Benjamin Lowentritt is a board-certified urologist at Chesapeake Urology and has been seeing patients for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer for over 15 years.
He was named Director of Prostate Cancer Services for United Urology in 2018 after serving as the Director of Prostate Cancer Care Program and Director, Minimally invasive Surgery and Robotics at Chesapeake Urology, a member of United Urology’s group practices. Dr Lowentritt is a member of United Urology’s Executive Clinical Team. As Director, Dr Lowentritt is responsible for working with member practices to build and optimize services for prostate cancer patients. He has been at the forefront of robotic urology procedures and was the first surgeon in Maryland to perform robot-assisted surgery for bladder cancer.
“Hi, I’m Dr Benjamin Lowentritt. I’m a urologist at Chesapeake Urology, and I’ve been seeing patients for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer for 15 years. In my practice, each patient’s treatment plan is individualized to that specific patient, and when prescribing a GnRHa, my thoughts go to LUPRON DEPOT.
Early in my career, LUPRON DEPOT was ADT—the two were synonymous to me. In my mind, the fact that LUPRON DEPOT remains a market leader after more than 30 years speaks to a reassuring commitment to treating patients with advanced prostate cancer.
Drawing on my experience, and what I’ve observed from my colleagues, LUPRON DEPOT is still the ADT many of us reach for when treating patients with advanced prostate cancer. In my experience, it checks the boxes: an established efficacy and safety profile, flexible dosing options, and an innovative delivery system.
Each of the clinical studies for the 1, 3, 4, and 6-month doses has demonstrated efficacy in suppressing testosterone, so I know what to expect, and I can tailor the dosing schedule to one that fits my patient’s needs. I remember when the 4-month dose came to market in 1997, allowing patients to spread out their treatments over the course of a year. And, since 2011, the 6-month dose has added to that flexibility as well.
Treating each patient as an individual is so fundamental to the way we practice medicine in general and the way we manage patients with advanced prostate cancer. Having the flexibility of different dosing schedules is one way to individualize care depending on how stable a patient is with their therapy and how frequently I need to monitor their testosterone levels, PSA levels, and any side effects.
It’s important to note that LUPRON DEPOT is contraindicated in individuals with known hypersensitivity to GnRH agonists or any of the excipients in LUPRON DEPOT.
Whenever I test a patient’s PSA level, I also test and monitor their testosterone level. While this isn’t standard practice, testing both testosterone and PSA levels gives me a more complete picture of what’s going on with my patients.
In my experience, it’s as simple as adding the testosterone test to the same blood draw for the PSA test. Routinely monitoring testosterone helps me treat my patients more proactively because I can see any changes in testosterone levels before these changes may affect PSA levels. And I can monitor these results every time my patients visit the office for their ADT injections.
When it comes to administering LUPRON DEPOT, the first thing that comes to mind is how much our staff appreciates the innovative delivery system. It doesn’t have to be refrigerated, so it doesn’t take time to warm up before use. It comes in a complete injection kit that has a prefilled dual-chamber syringe, which requires no external mixing. And my staff definitely values the LuproLoc® safety system that helps prevent accidental needlesticks.
In our experience, patients also appreciate that LUPRON DEPOT uses a fine, 23-gauge, intramuscular needle And because it comes in a complete injection kit that has everything needed to administer, our staff finds the process quick and efficient.
Part of my approach is treating the patient as a whole, and part of that is helping them become informed. When I diagnose a patient with advanced prostate cancer, or when a patient comes to me after a recent diagnosis, they’re usually in a vulnerable place—worried, confused, and anxious about what comes next. The educational materials that AbbVie provides to my practice deliver key information for LUPRON DEPOT patients about their condition that they can refer to after they leave my office—at their own pace, on their own time.
Supporting patients with information they need at a critical time in their lives is an important part of empowering them to actively participate in their treatment.”
