ORLANDO, FL, USA (UroToday.com) - The TAX 327 study was conducted in 1 006 men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).
These men were randomized to receive one of three treatments: 3-weekly docetaxel (D3), weekly docetaxel (D1), or 3-weekly mitoxantrone (M), each with prednisone. The study demonstrated that following D3, patients had superior survival and symptom control compared to patients receiving M. The aim of this post-hoc analysis was to identify factors that could characterize subgroups of patients who obtained the greatest benefit from the use of D3 as compared to M.
The database from the TAX 327 study was used to investigate if patients with poorly differentiated tumors (Gleason 7-10) at diagnosis had greater benefit from D3 as compared to M, than patients with better-differentiated tumors (Gleason ≤ 6). Overall survival (OS) was compared between the treatment groups, within each subgroup of Gleason score, by using a Cox model.
The data showed that patients with high-grade tumors have a greater OS benefit of D3 vs. M (median OS 18.9 vs. 14.5 months) compared to patients with low grade tumors (median OS 21.6 vs. 20.7 months).
To conclude, patients with high Gleason-score tumors (7-10) have greater survival benefit attained with 3-weekly docetaxel as compared to 3-weekly mitoxantrone. For patients with mCRPC, this information may provide additional guidance in treatment decisions regarding the use of chemotherapy as first-line treatment. However, this finding is hypothesis-generating and needs confirmation in other trials.
Presented by Robert van Soest, Ellen de Morrée, Liji Shen, Ian Tannock, Mario A. Eisenberger, and Ronald De Wit at the 2013 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium - February 14 - 16, 2013 - Rosen Shingle Creek - Orlando, Florida USA
Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands; Sanofi, Malvern, PA; Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada; The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD
Written by Anna Forsberg, medical reporter for UroToday.com
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