Dr. O'Sullivan on Safety Profile of Radium-223

Joe O'Sullivan, MD, clinical professor, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, at Queen’s University Belfast, discusses toxicities associated with radium-223 dichloride for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Toxicities that were observed in patients enrolled in the ALSYMPCA trial as well as the expanded access program associated with radium-223 were similar, O’Sullivan says. This included a 5% to 6% rate of grade 3 thrombocytopenia, though this is generally reversible. Also reported were low rates anemia or neutropenia.

Non-hematologic toxicities include diarrhea, O’Sullivan adds.