First Study to Show Chemotherapy Extends Survival of Advanced Prostate Cancer Patients
The results of a phase III multicenter trial presented at the 38th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology showed for the first time that chemotherapy can improve the survival of patients with advanced hormone-refractory prostate cancer. For the study, researchers compared the effects of vinblastine alone vs vinblastine combined with estramustine (Emcyt).
The results of a phase III multicenter trial presentedat the 38th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology showedfor the first time that chemotherapy can improve the survival of patients withadvanced hormone-refractory prostate cancer. For the study, researchers comparedthe effects of vinblastine alone vs vinblastine combined with estramustine(Emcyt).
"This is the first study to show that chemotherapy can improve survivalfor this group of patients," said Gary Hudes, MD, lead investigator for thestudy and a medical oncologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia."While this is only a modest survival increase, it demonstrates thepotential for improved chemotherapy combinations that are currently beingtested. We believe that new studies using estramustine in combination with othersimilar drugs will greatly increase the length of survival for men with thisdeadly disease."
Other benefits of the combination therapy included a reduction in the paincaused by the disease. "Also, we were surprised to find that the sideeffects were reduced when these drugs were used in combination vs vinblastinealone," said Dr. Hudes.
Prolaris in Practice: Guiding ADT Benefits, Clinical Application, and Expert Insights From ACRO 2025
April 15th 2025Steven E. Finkelstein, MD, DABR, FACRO discuses how Prolaris distinguishes itself from other genomic biomarker platforms by providing uniquely actionable clinical information that quantifies the absolute benefit of androgen deprivation therapy when added to radiation therapy, offering clinicians a more precise tool for personalizing prostate cancer treatment strategies.
CCR Scores and Beyond: Precision Strategies for Treatment Intensification in Prostate Cancer
April 15th 2025Alvaro Martinez, MD discusses how emerging genomic risk stratification tools such as the clinical cell-cycle risk (CCR) score are transforming personalized prostate cancer treatment by enabling more nuanced assessments of metastasis risk and treatment intensification strategies beyond traditional NCCN risk groupings.
