Background:Abiraterone and docetaxel are both approved treatments for men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
Abiraterone pre-docetaxel is currently undergoing evaluation in a phase III study. In vitro studies indicate that taxanes may act by disrupting androgen receptor signalling. We hypothesised that prior abiraterone exposure would adversely impact docetaxel efficacy.
Patients and Methods:We retrospectively evaluated activity of docetaxel in mCRPC patients previously treated with abiraterone, using Prostate Cancer Working Group and radiological criteria.
Results:Of the 54 patients treated with abiraterone, 35 subsequently received docetaxel. Docetaxel resulted in a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) decline of ≥50% in nine patients [26%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 13% to 43%], with a median time to PSA progression of 4.6 months (95% CI 4.2% to 5.9%). PSA declines ≥30% were achieved by 13 patients (37%, 95% CI 22% to 55%). The median overall survival was 12.5 months (95% CI 10.6-19.4). All patients who failed to achieve a PSA fall on abiraterone and were deemed abiraterone-refractory were also docetaxel-refractory (N = 8). In the 24 patients with radiologically evaluable disease, partial responses were reported in four patients (11%), none of whom were abiraterone-refractory.
Conclusion: The activity of docetaxel post-abiraterone appears lower than anticipated and no responses to docetaxel were observed in abiraterone-refractory patients.
Written by:
Mezynski J, Pezaro C, Bianchini D, Zivi A, Sandhu S, Thompson E, Hunt J, Sheridan E, Baikady B, Sarvadikar A, Maier G, Reid AH, Mulick Cassidy A, Olmos D, Attard G, de Bono J. Are you the author?
Section of Medicine, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and The Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton, UK.
Reference: Ann Oncol. 2012 Jul 5. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1093/annonc/mds119
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 22771826
UroToday.com Investigative Urology Section
