Key clinical point: Oral once-daily relugolix is a safe and effective alternative to injectable androgen deprivation therapies for the treatment of localized intermediate-risk prostate cancer.

Major finding: Relugolix and degarelix groups showed conventional castration rates of 95% and 89% and median time to castration was 4 and 3 days, respectively. At 12 weeks after treatment discontinuation, testosterone recovery to baseline levels occurred in 52% and 16% of patients, respectively. Grade ≥3 toxicities in the relugolix and degarelix groups were 2% and 11%, respectively.

Study details: A phase 2 study included patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer who were randomly assigned to 24-week treatment with either daily oral relugolix (n = 65) or 4-week subcutaneous depot degarelix (n = 38).

Disclosures: This study was funded by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. Zhan Ye, Hélène M. Faessel, Huamao Lin, Yanyan Zhu are current employees of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. David B. MacLean and Hongliang Shi were former employees of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Except Christopher Pieczonka, James L. Bailen, and Daniel R. Saltzstein, authors reported ties with 1 or more pharmaceutical companies.