How important is drug sequence in advanced prostate cancer survival?

The authors aimed to determine the benefit of sequencing docetaxel (Taxotere) and abiraterone (Zytiga) treatment to improve progression-free survival (patients who did not experience cancer growth after treatment) in patients with metastaic (cancer that has spread) hormone-resistant (cancer that does not respond to hormone treatment) prostate cancer.

The authors concluded that there was no evident benefit of alternative sequencing in patients with metastatic hormone-resistant prostate cancer.

Hormone therapy is a common treatment used in prostate cancer. It targets the male sex hormones that lead to tumor growth in prostate cancer, such as testosterone. Some patients can become resistant to this type of treatment. This is known as hormone-resistant prostate cancer. Resistance is common in patients with advanced prostate cancer.

Docetaxel and abiraterone are chemotherapy drugs used in advanced prostate cancer. In patients who respond to hormone therapy, early treatment with docetaxel can significantly improve survival. The optimal sequencing of these drugs in advanced, resistant cancer is not yet known.  

The aim of this study was to determine the benefit of sequencing treatment in patients with advanced prostate cancer.

58 patients were used in this study. Group 1 included 26 patients who received docetaxel and then abiraterone. Group 2 included 32 patients who received abiraterone followed by docetaxel. Group 2 had more advanced tumors, tumors on the bones and higher prostate specific antigen (PSA, protein elevated in the blood in the presence of prostate cancer) levels compared to group 1.

There were no significant differences in progression-free survival or overall survival (time from treatment until death from any cause) between the two groups based on the sequence of treatment.

The authors concluded that treatment sequence did not affect progression-free survival in patients with advanced, hormone-resistant prostate cancer.