In a nutshell
This study looked at the effect, and specifically drug related toxicities, of cabazitaxel (jevtana) plus prednisone treatment in metastatic prostate cancer patients.
Some background
Prostate cancer grows in response to the hormone testosterone. In order to reduce the effect of testosterone, castration is the mainstay of advanced prostate cancer therapy. Castration may involve surgery to remove the testicles (surgical castration), or medicine to stop the production of testosterone (medical castration). A prostate tumor that continues growing despite castration therapy is referred to as castration resistant prostate cancer.
Cabazitaxel is a chemotherapy drug used to treat prostate cancer that has failed to respond to other chemotherapy treatments. Cabazitaxel inhibits cell division, stops cancer growth, and has been shown in previous trails to increase survival. Currently the drug is approved for use only in very aggressive forms of prostate cancer which have spread to other organs of the body, referred to as metastatic prostate cancer. Previous trials have shown that many patients receiving cabazitaxel suffered significant side effects (toxicities). Chemotherapy is often given in combination with prednisone, a steroid drug which reduces inflammation and alleviates pain.
Methods & findings
111 men with castration resistant metastatic prostate cancer, who were previously treated with medical or chemical castration and chemotherapy, were given cabazitaxel every 21 days, plus prednisone twice daily. 53% of the patients showed no significant toxicities. The toxicities observed included anemia (low oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood) in 4.5% of the patients, and blood clotting problems in 0.9% of patients. Low levels of immune cells were seen in 7.2% of patients, and severe diarrhea in 4.5% of patients. Three patients died from cabazitaxel related toxicities during this trial.
The bottom line
Cabazitaxel in combination with prednisone is relatively safe, and may be used in patients with metastatic prostate cancer if other treatments fail to stop cancer progression.
The fine print
Sanofi Aventis, the manufacturers of cabazitaxel, sponsored this study.
What’s next?
Consult with your physician on the use of cabazitaxel if other chemotherapy treatments have failed to halt cancer progression.
Published By :
European Urology
Date :
Jun 01, 2013
