Role of chemotherapy in combination with hormonal therapy in first-line treatment of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer (PC) is a heterogeneous disease, whose growth is driven by androgens and androgen receptors. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the standard treatment of hormone-naïve metastatic disease. The majority of patients are treated with medical castration with GnRH agonists or antagonists, which usually determines a profound PSA decline and a radiological and clinical benefit. However, essentially all patients experience progression to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), and overall prognosis remains disappointing. Early targeting of cells that survive hormonal therapy may potentially prevent the development of CRPC. Several trials have explored the use of combination therapy with ADT and chemotherapy, targeting both the androgen dependent and independent cells simultaneously. Docetaxel was administered in combination with ADT to men with hormone-naïve metastatic prostate cancer, in the attempt to improve the duration and quality of patient survival. Three large randomized trials (the GETUG-15, CHAARTED and more recently the STAMPEDE study) have assessed these endpoints, with partially conflicting results. Overall, the results from these trials seem to support the use of early docetaxel combined with ADT in selected hormone-naïve metastatic PC patients. Full publication of the results of all studies, with longer follow-up, and the results of other ongoing trials in this setting will hopefully further define the role and the indications of this therapeutic strategy.