What is Pluvicto? 5 Things to Know About This Prostate Cancer Drug

Pluvicto is a radioactive medication used to treat advanced prostate cancer, a type of prostate cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. Pluvicto won’t cure cancer, but it can help slow tumor growth and spread.

How does Pluvicto work?

Pluvicto works like a heat-seeking missile, targeting PSMA protein on cancer cells. PSMA stands for prostate-specific membrane antigen. PSMA is on the surface of some cancer cells. A patient who has these cells has PSMA-positive prostate cancer. 

PSMA-positive cancer cells can be in other areas of the body where prostate cancer has spread, including bones, the liver or lungs. 

Pluvicto binds itself to the PSMA protein in the cancer cells and is absorbed into them. Once inside the cell, it then releases radiation. This damages or kills these cancerous cells with limited damage to the surrounding good cells.

The targeted therapy helps to reduce the size of the tumor and prevents cancer cells from multiplying. 

How is Pluvicto administered?

Pluvicto is given through an IV infusion in the arm. It usually takes less than 15 minutes to receive the medicine. Patients are monitored for 30 minutes after the infusion and are then sent home.

This treatment is done once every six weeks for up to six sessions, as long as there are no severe side effects. Patients will continue to have blood work and other lab tests throughout the treatment period.

Patients are usually asked to drink plenty of water before and after each dose. This will help produce urine and get rid of extra radiation in the body. 

Who is eligible to receive Pluvicto treatment?

Pluvicto is designed for men whose prostate cancer has spread to other parts of their body and who no longer are responding to hormonal therapies or chemotherapy. It is an option for patients whose cancer has been treated with both a hormone-blocking medicine and a type of anticancer drug called a taxane. 

Pluvicto, which is also sold under the name lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2022. 

Before starting Pluvicto treatment, a patient will likely have blood work and a PSMA-PET scan, which is an imaging test that uses a radioactive substance to detect prostate cancer in the body.

These tests, along with a review of the patient’s medical history, will help doctors determine if Pluvicto is the right treatment for the individual patient. 

What are the side effects of Pluvicto?

Common side effects of Pluvicto include fatigue, nausea, dry mouth and constipation.  

Is Pluvicto a chemotherapy drug?

No, Pluvicto is not chemotherapy. It is a form of targeted radiation therapy. 

Pluvicto is a radiopharmaceutical, a specialized class of drug that contains radioactive isotopes. It is recommended that after receiving treatment patients stay at least 3 feet away from children for 2 days and at least 3 feet away from pregnant people for 7 days. 

It is also recommended that those receiving Pluvicto sleep in a separate bedroom or space from anyone in their household for 3 days, from any children for 7 days, and from pregnant people for 15 days. It is also recommended to avoid sexual activity with another person for 7 days after using Pluvicto. 

Pluvicto treatments are offered at Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center at St. Tammany Cancer Center- A campus of Ochsner Medical Center, as well as at Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer in New Orleans and in Baton Rouge. Learn more about prostate cancer care at Ochsner Health.