Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men. It is estimated that 186,000 cases will be detected last year, and the dreaded disease will claim close to twenty eight thousand lives.

The Food and Drug Administration has given green signal to Degarelix, a novel gonadotrophin-releasing hormone blocker that lowers the level of testosterone, in a different way than other medicines do it, as well as levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA).

FDA officials said older drugs in the same class can actually increase testosterone production before they begin lowering them. In studies on prostate cancer patients, Ferring showed that its drug, degarelix, does not raise testosterone levels.

FDA officials added that although results from clinical trials showed a substantial reduction in testosterone levels within days in most of the participating patients, the drug was as effective as leuprolide (Lupron) at maintaining hormone levels down.