Prostate cancer patients live longer by combining chemo with hormone therapies

Preliminary results of a clinical trial for the chemotherapy drug docetaxel indicate that hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer patients who added hormone therapy to the mix experienced significantly prolonged survival, according to a Dec. 5 statement by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The trial, known as CHAARTED: ChemoHormonal Therapy Versus Androgen Ablation Randomized Trial for Extensive Disease in Prostate Cancer (E3805), is led by study chair Christopher Sweeney, MBBS, from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and principal investigator David Jarrard, MD, from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

A total of 790 men with metastatic prostate cancer treated between July 2006 and November 2012 with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) solely or with additional docetaxel chemotherapy were included. Study findings showed that patients who received both therapies achieved three-year survival rates of 69.0 percent versus 52.5 percent for those who underwent ADT alone.

“The results of this study are practice-changing,” said Sweeney via NIH release. “We have strong scientific evidence that patients with the most advanced metastatic prostate cancer benefit from the early addition of docetaxel to ADT and not waiting until the cancer has progressed on hormonal therapy. The findings of this study are important both for improving the clinical care we deliver now and in designing new clinical trials as we strive to further improve the lives of men with metastatic prostate cancer.”

Docetaxel is FDA approved, but should be combined with ADT with caution due to potential toxicity. The researchers urge clinicians to limit prescribing this regimen to only those with critically advanced metastatic prostate cancer eligible for treatment.