ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Despite most metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients benefit from abiraterone acetate plus prednisone 5 mg bid (AA + P), resistance eventually occurs. Long-term use of prednisone has been suggested as one of the mechanisms driving resistance, which may be reversed by switching to another steroid. METHODS: SWITCH was a single-arm, open-label, single-stage phase II study. The primary objective was to evaluate the antitumour activity of abiraterone acetate plus dexamethasone 0.5 mg daily (AA + D) in mCRPC patients progressing to AA + P. Clinically stable mCRPC patients who had prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and/or limited radiographic progression after at least 12 weeks on AA + P, were eligible. The primary endpoint was measured as the proportion of patients achieving a PSA decline of ≥ 30% (PSA30) from baseline after 6 weeks on AA + D. Secondary endpoints included: PSA50 response rate at 12 weeks, time to biochemical and radiological progression, overall survival, safety profile evaluation, benefit from subsequent treatment lines and the identification of biomarkers of response (AR copy number, TMPRSS2-ERG status and PTEN expression). RESULTS: Twenty-six patients were enrolled. PSA30 and PSA50 were 46.2% and 34.6%, respectively. Median time to biochemical and radiological progression were 5.3 and 11.8 months, respectively. Two radiological responses were observed. Median overall survival was 20.9 months. Patients with AR gain detected in plasma circulating tumour DNA did not respond to switch, whereas patients with AR normal status benefited the most. No significant toxicities were observed and PSA50 response rate to subsequent taxane was 50%. CONCLUSIONS: In selected clinical stable mCRPC patients with limited disease progression on AA + P, a steroid switch from prednisone to dexamethasone can lead to PSA and radiological responses.
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal/administration & dosage , Dexamethasone/administration & dosage , Prednisone/administration & dosage , Prostatic Neoplasms, Castration-Resistant/drug therapy , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Androstenes/therapeutic use , Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal/therapeutic use , Dexamethasone/therapeutic use , Disease Progression , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Oncogene Proteins, Fusion/genetics , PTEN Phosphohydrolase/genetics , Pilot Projects , Prednisone/therapeutic use , Prospective Studies , Prostate-Specific Antigen/blood , Prostatic Neoplasms, Castration-Resistant/genetics , Prostatic Neoplasms, Castration-Resistant/metabolism , Receptors, Androgen/genetics , Survival Analysis , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Early identification of germline BRCA1/2 mutations may be relevant for the management of patients with prostate cancer (PC) and to prevent future breast and ovarian cancers in their relatives. Several prediction tools have been developed to estimate the likelihood of a germline BRCA1/2 mutation and are widely used to optimize screening in breast and ovarian cancer patients. We aimed to elucidate the proportion of PC patients with known BRCA1/2 mutations who would have qualified for testing using two risk calculation models (BRCAPRO and the Manchester scoring system [MSS]). We analyzed 106 families with known BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations, including 23 with PC cases. Only 30% and 48% of PC patients who were known BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations carriers would have qualified for testing using BRCAPRO and MSS, respectively. A median of two breast and/or ovarian cancer cases per family had occurred between the first PC identified in a carrier and the cancer case leading to germline testing. PATIENT SUMMARY: We tested two models developed to predict the probability of inherited BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations and found that these tools underperform in men with prostate cancer and should not be used to optimize testing in this population.