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Chemotherapy for prostate cancer: implementing early systemic therapy to improve outcomes

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Abstract

Prostate cancer remains a significant health concern for men in the USA as it is a leading cancer diagnosis and a cause of death. With the use of prostate-specific antigen or screening, a stage migration has occurred with an increase in the number of men diagnosed with early-stage disease. The optimal primary management of these men is evolving, but despite adequate local treatment a significant percentage will develop either biochemical or clinical evidence of recurrent disease. Several criteria for risk stratification have been developed, thus, improving the ability to identify a high-risk population. Small studies have been reported demonstrating the feasibility of neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy in conjunction with either radiation or radical prostatectomy in this high-risk population, and large phase III studies are ongoing. With the advent of life-prolonging chemotherapy in the hormone-refractory setting, attention must now also be given to early-stage disease so as to develop multi-modality approaches with the hope of increasing survival and ultimately providing a cure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, 7314 CCGC, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-0946, USA

    Maha Hussain

  2. Division of Hematology/Oncology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Gary R. MacVicar

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  1. Gary R. MacVicar
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  2. Maha Hussain
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Correspondence to Maha Hussain.

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MacVicar, G.R., Hussain, M. Chemotherapy for prostate cancer: implementing early systemic therapy to improve outcomes. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 56 (Suppl 1), 69–77 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-005-0103-7

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