Management of advanced prostate cancer in a middle-income country: real-world consideration of the Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference 2017.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the results of the Malaysian Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference (MyAPCCC) 2018, held for assessing the generalizability of consensus reached at the Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference (APCCC 2017) to Malaysia, a middle-income country. METHODS: Six key sections were chosen: (1) high-risk localized and locally advanced prostate cancer, (2) oligometastatic prostate cancer, (3) castration-naïve prostate cancer, (4) castrate resistant prostate cancer, (5) use of osteoclast-targeted therapy and (6) global access to prostate cancer drugs. There were 101 consensus questions, consisting of 91 questions from APCCC 2017 and 10 new questions from MyAPCCC 2018, selected and modified by the steering committee; of which, 23 questions were assessed in both ideal world and real-world settings. A panel of 22 experts, comprising of 11 urologists and 11 oncologists, voted on 101 predefined questions anonymously. Final voting results were compared with the APCCC 2017 outcomes. RESULTS: Most voting results from the MyAPCCC 2018 were consistent with the APCCC 2017 outcomes. No consensus was achieved for controversial topics with little level I evidence, such as management of oligometastatic disease. No consensus was reached on using high-cost drugs in castration-naïve or castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer in real-world settings. All panellists recommended using generic drugs when available. CONCLUSIONS: The MyAPCCC 2018 voting results reflect the management of advanced prostate cancer in a middle-income country in a real-world setting. These results may serve as a guide for local clinical practices and highlight the financial challenges in modern healthcare.

Clinical outcomes of abiraterone acetate and predictors of its treatment duration in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: Real-world experience in the Southeast Asian cohort.

It is of much interest to understand the efficacy of abiraterone acetate (AA) in routine clinical practice. We assessed the clinical outcome of AA in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and determined clinical factors associated with AA treatment duration in real-world setting. This real-world cohort consisted of 93 patients with mCRPC treated with AA in Thailand (58.1%) and Malaysia (41.9%). Primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS). Secondary endpoints were predictors associated with AA treatment duration evaluated with Cox proportional hazards regression. Around 74% were chemotherapy-naïve. The median AA treatment duration was 10 months (IQR 5.6-17.1). Malaysians had a relatively lower median OS and bPFS (OS 17.8 months; 95% CI 6.4-29.1, bPFS 10.4 months; 95% CI 8.8-12.0) compared to Thais (OS 27.0 months; 95% CI 11.3-42.7, bPFS 14.0 months; 95% CI 5.8-22.2), although it did not achieve statistical significance (P > .05). Patients with longer AA treatment duration (>10 months) had lower risk of death and longer bPFS, compared to those with shorter AA treatment duration (≤10 months) (hazard ratio [HR] 0.10, 95% CI 0.05-0.22 and HR 0.13, 95% CI 0.06-0.25, respectively). Multivariable analysis showed that PSA at AA initiation, presence of PSA response and chemotherapy-naive were independently associated with AA duration (P < .05). Abiraterone acetate is well-tolerated in the Southeast Asian cohort with comparable survival benefits to other Asian populations in real-world setting. Lower PSA levels at AA initiation, presence of PSA response, and chemotherapy-naive were significant in determining AA treatment duration.

The efficacy and tolerability of scalp cooling in preventing chemotherapy-induced alopecia in patients with breast cancer receiving anthracycline and taxane-based chemotherapy in an Asian setting.

BACKGROUND: Scalp cooling has been shown in several studies to be an effective method in preventing chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA). Data on the use of scalp cooling in Asian countries are limited, and evidence for its use and efficacy among our patients are not available. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of scalp cooling among breast cancer patients in our study population. METHODS: Consecutive breast cancer patients receiving FE75C, FE100C, FE100C-D, docetaxel75 or docetaxel, and cyclophosphamide (TC) at our treatment center were recruited and allocated to the treatment (scalp cooling, DigniCapTM system) or control group in this prospective nonrandomized controlled study. The assessment of alopecia was carried out using the World Health Organization grading system and clinical photographs. RESULTS: Seventy patients were recruited, but only 25 completed the study and were evaluable for analysis. Five of 12 patients (42%) in the scalp cooling group managed to preserve hair. Two of three patients who received FE75C and TC regimens had minimal hair loss. All patients treated with FE100C had severe hair loss. Half of all patients who received scalp cooling throughout chemotherapy rated the treatment as reasonably well tolerated. The most common reason for discontinuing scalp cooling was intolerance to its side effects. CONCLUSION: Scalp cooling is potentially effective in reducing CIA caused by docetaxel, TC, and FE75C chemotherapy regimen. However, it was not well tolerated by our study population. The dropout rate was high, and this needs to be taken into consideration when pursuing further trials in a similar setting.