Duran Duran’s Andy Taylor shares terminal cancer update

Despite battling terminal prostate cancer, Duran Duran alum Andy Taylor has been able to prolong his life for five more years thanks to an innovative new drug he recently started taking.

The 62-year-old English guitarist, who went public with his diagnosis late last year, told BBC Breakfast this week that while he only began taking Lutetium-177 six weeks ago, the effects are already life-changing.

With the cancer having spread to his bones, Taylor said his health had been in bad shape prior to starting his first round of the “nuclear medicine,” which is designed to only target and destroy cancerous cells.

“It can’t see healthy cells,” he explained. “It kills stage four cancer in your bones. And so what it’s effectively done is extend my life for five years.”

Taylor’s diagnosis was shared with the world last November during Duran Duran’s induction into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Though Taylor’s illness kept him from attending the milestone event, he allowed his bandmates to read a letter revealing his terminal cancer, which had been diagnosed four years earlier.

At the time, Taylor said his medical treatment had, “until very recently, allowed [him] to just rock on,” but that a “setback” showed him he should not be “pushing [his] boundaries.”

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Following the announcement, Taylor was contacted by Professor Sir Chris Evans, founder of the U.K.-based Cancer Awareness Trust, who offered him the Lutetium 177 drug.

“When patients like Andy Taylor have unfortunately progressed to stage four prostate cancer with secondary metastases, particularly in the bone tissue, then treatment options are limited,” Prof. Evans told the BBC. “He’d already received some of the best medicines available and was in serious decline.”

After conducting an analysis of Taylor’s genetic profile and the specific mutations present in his cancer, Evans determined that “Lutetium 177 injections were considered the best option.”

And so far, Taylor seems to be doing “marvelously” following his initial round — so much so that he’s been able to get back to work. His new album, titled “Man’s a Wolf to Man,” is set to be released Sept. 8.

“This [treatment] may result in quite a substantial life extension for Andy to continue being very creative and active making and performing live music,” Prof. Evans said.

Lutetium-177 was approved by the FDA in March 2022 for advanced metastatic prostate cancer. According to UChicago Medicine, “this therapy extends the quantity and quality of life for patients who otherwise would have limited treatment options. … As most patients respond to the treatment, their symptoms tend to get better and their quality of life improves.”