Genitourinary Cancers

Two studies presented at the 2012 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meet­ing suggested that abiraterone acetate (AA; Zytiga), an androgen biosynthesis inhibitor,¹ has the potential to be used earlier in the course of prostate cancer than its current US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indication (ie, after failure of chemotherapy in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer [CRPC]). A second interim analysis of a phase 3 trial had positive outcomes with AA in men with metastatic CRPC who had not yet received chemotherapy,¹ and a preliminary phase 2 study suggested AA may have a role in the neoadjuvant setting before radical prostatectomy is performed in men with early-stage localized high-risk prostate cancer.² In addition, secondary results from the AFFIRM trial confirmed the superiority of enzalutamide to placebo in men with CRPC following treatment with docetaxel.³

Men diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer are more likely to choose active surveillance as their primary treatment if their care is managed by a multidisciplinary team, according to a recent study (Aizer AA, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2012;30:3071-3076).

An investigational alpha-pharmaceutical not only prevented skeletal-related events (SREs) in patients with prostate cancer with bone metastases in a phase 3 study presented at the 2011 European Multidisciplinary Cancer Congress, but it also improved overall survival. “This is the first drug targeted to bone metastases in prostate cancer to improve survival,” said lead investigator Chris Parker, MD, Royal Marsden Hospital, London. “There are other bone drugs used in prostate cancer, but they help to minimize symptoms; they don’t improve survival. Read More ›

ORLANDO—Oncology pharmacists can stick with the approved dosing for sunitinib in the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to a study by New York investigators.

ORLANDO—Interim results of a randomized, controlled, phase 3 trial showed that abiraterone acetate significantly prolonged overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic castrationresistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who progressed after docetaxel-based chemo - therapy. The survival benefit was consistent across all prespecified subgroups. Lead author Howard Scher, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, said abira - terone is poised to become a new standard of care during his presentation at the 2011 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

Urothelial (transitional) bladder carcinoma, the most common type of bladder cancer, has mutations in genes that function in chromatin remodeling, affecting the way DNA is packaged, duplicated, and processed during cell division. Gui et al from China examined this issue in a study just published online in Nature Genetics. Common chromatin remodeling genes include UTX, MLL-MLL3, CREBBP-EP300, NCOR1, ARID1A, and CHD6. Read More ›

Short-term androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) for 4 months before and during radiotherapy increases overall survival rates and decreases disease-specific mortality rates in men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer, according to an interventional phase 3 study.