Abarelix: the first gonadotrophin-releasing hormone antagonist for the treatment of prostate cancer.

The high incidence of prostate cancer makes it a major healthcare problem and the second leading cancer-related cause of death among men in developed countries. The hormonal treatment of prostate cancer is indicated for the palliation of symptomatic and metastatic disease in older patients, and as neoadjuvant treatment of different modalities of radiotherapy. This hormonal treatment is based on the study conducted by Huggins in 1940 and consists of androgen suppression. Since the clinical availability of the first luteinising hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist, no significant improvement has been made in the field of medical castration. Taking these data into consideration, the recent approval of abarelix by the FDA, the first gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist, appears to be promising news. The pharmacology of the molecule and the clinical studies that led to FDA approval will be reviewed. The place of GnRH antagonists in the treatment modalities of prostate cancer will then be discussed.