Each dose of PROVENGE is personalized by taking your own blood cells and reprogramming them to jumpstart your immune system. This section also talks about the importance of PSA levels and the role they play in the PROVENGE treatment process. Here’s a step-by-step overview of the process:
To make each dose, blood will be drawn from your body and passed through a machine that collects a small portion of your immune cells, along with some platelets and a small number of red blood cells. The machine returns the rest of the cells and blood to your body.
Your immune cells are then sent to an FDA-approved manufacturing facility to be made into a dose of PROVENGE specifically for you.
After 6 appointments, your treatment with PROVENGE is complete.
As this sample schedule shows, your time commitment for PROVENGE is 6 appointments over about a month. After these appointments, no future treatments with PROVENGE are necessary.
It’s important to keep all of your scheduled treatment appointments and arrive prepared. Your dose of PROVENGE is custom made for you and has a short shelf life. If you miss an infusion appointment, your personal dose of PROVENGE will expire and can no longer be used. As a result, you’d have to repeat the cell collection procedure so a new custom dose of PROVENGE could be manufactured.
We encourage you to use the calendar inside your Patient Comfort Kit to set reminders for yourself. You can also ask family members or friends to mark your procedure dates on their calendars too, to help ensure that you do not miss any appointments.
The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is often used to monitor progression of prostate cancer and how effectively your treatment is controlling the disease. However in the PROVENGE clinical trial, the main goal was not to lower PSA levels—it was to extend life. So even if your PSA levels do not go down, PROVENGE may help you live longer.
Changes in PSA levels may not be indicative of how well your PROVENGE treatment is working. Be sure to talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about your PSA levels.
Preparing for Treatment
Financial Support May Be Available
More than 90% of Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) patients receiving PROVENGE are expected to have minimal to no out-of-pocket costs. Learn more ›
Find a PROVENGE Treatment Center
PROVENGE® (sipuleucel-T) is a prescription medicine that is used to treat certain patients with advanced prostate cancer. PROVENGE is made from your own immune cells.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Click here for full Prescribing Information.