In a nutshell
The authors determined the value of bone biomarkers in predicting poor survival in patients with hormone resistant prostate cancer.
Some background
Hormone therapy is a common treatment for prostate cancer. It targets the male sex hormones active in prostate cancer, such as testosterone. Some patients can develop resistance to hormone therapy. This is known as hormone-resistant or castration-resistant prostate cancer. Consequently, these patients will require alternative treatment. Often times, cancer spreads from prostate to bones (bone metastasis) in these patients, resulting in poor survival. Biomarkers can help predict survival outcomes in such patients. Biomarkers are naturally occurring body substances associated with a disease. These are often used for predicting the progression or outcome of a disease. Bone biomarkers may indicate bone tumors in hormone-resistant and advanced (stage III/ IV) prostate cancer.
Further studies are needed to determine the benefit of bone biomarkers in predicting survival in hormone-resistant prostate cancer.
Methods & findings
The aim of this study was to determine the value of bone biomarkers in predicting survival in patients with advanced, hormone-resistant prostate cancer.
Blood samples from 778 patients were analyzed in this study. Patients who had increased baseline (initial) biomarkers experienced worse overall survival (patients who were still alive following treatment). Patients who had increased biomarker levels by week 9, experienced a significantly worse overall survival compared to patients with low biomarker levels.
Patients who had high biomarker levels had a 4.3 times increased risk of experiencing poor overall survival. Patients with high biomarker levels had a 33% improved overall survival when treated with atrasentan (Xinlay – experimental drug). They also experienced a median (mid-point) survival of 13 months. This was compared to 5 months in the placebo (harmless pill in place of an active drug) group.
The bottom line
The authors concluded that bone biomarkers have significant independent prognostic values. In addition, a small number of patients with high biomarker levels may benefit from atrasentan treatment.
The fine print
Futher studies with bone biomarkers are needed for results to be widely applied.
Published By :
Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI)
Date :
Feb 24, 2014
