Reduced Dose of Abiraterone Acetate with Concomitant Low-dose Prednisone in the Treatment of ≥ 85 Year-old Patients with Advanced Castrate-resistant Prostate Cancer.

AIM: The aim of the study was to evaluate the activity and safety of reduced-dose abiraterone acetate (AA) in ≥ 85 year-old patients with advanced castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients received 750 mg oral AA as three 250-mg tablets once daily, with concomitant oral prednisone, 5 mg daily. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients were enrolled; median age was 88 years (range=85-93). Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response was observed in 18 (69.2%) subjects, median time to PSA progression was 6.4 months (95% confidence interval (CI)=2.8-8.8) and median overall survival was 14.3 months (95% CI=7.2-18.3). The treatment was well-tolerated and adverse events, related to mineralocorticoid excess, were of grade 1-2 in all patients. CONCLUSION: Reduced dose of AA combined with a very low dose of prednisone is effective and well-tolerated in very elderly patients with advanced CRPC.

Weekly high-dose calcitriol and docetaxel in patients with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer previously exposed to docetaxel.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the activity and tolerability of weekly high-dose calcitriol and docetaxel in patients with metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) previously exposed to docetaxel, as patients who progress after docetaxel treatment might be considered for second-line chemotherapy, but with no standard salvage therapy available we hypothesised that high-dose calcitriol might restore sensitivity to chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study comprised 26 patients who had progressed after first-line treatment with docetaxel-based chemotherapy had failed. Treatment cycles consisted of calcitriol (32 microg orally as 0.5 microg tablets) on day 1 and docetaxel (30 mg/m(2) intravenous) on day 2, administered for six consecutive weeks followed by a 2-week rest interval for a maximum of 24 cycles. RESULTS: There was a response in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level in eight patients (31%); seven (27%) had a stable PSA level for >/= 12 weeks. The median time to PSA progression was 4.2 months and the median survival was 9.3 months. The regimen was generally well tolerated; there was grade 2 hypercalcaemia, probably related to calcitriol, in one patient after six treatment cycles. CONCLUSION: Weekly high-dose calcitriol and docetaxel seems to be an effective and well-tolerated treatment option for patients with metastatic HRPC previously exposed to docetaxel-based chemotherapy.

Capecitabine as third-line treatment in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma after failing immunotherapy.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity and toxicity of capecitabine as third-line treatment in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma for whom immunotherapy had failed. Twenty-one patients with metastatic clear renal cell carcinoma were enrolled. Capecitabine was administered orally twice daily at a dosage of 2500 mg/m(2) for 14 days, followed by 7 days of rest. The median number of administered cycles was five (1-13). One patient (4.8%) achieved a remission after eight treatment cycles. Stable disease was observed in nine patients (42.8%), whereas 11 progressed (52.4%). The estimated median time to progression was 3.6 months (confidence interval: 1.4 to 5.2). The estimated median overall survival was 7.2 months (confidence interval: 4.6 to 8.8). The regimen was well tolerated and no unexpected toxic effects were observed. Capecitabine as third-line treatment showed a favourable toxicity profile, but exhibited low activity in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma after failing immunotherapy.