Men with hormone therapy resistant metastatic prostate cancer endure less fatigue when treated with a combination of abiraterone acetate and prednisone, according to results from an international phase 3 clinical trial.
“One of the most distressing issues these metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients face during hormone treatment is extreme fatigue. Our results show that abiraterone acetate therapy has the potential to reduce cancer-related fatigue in this patient population, in addition to the previously demonstrated survival benefit,” Dr Cora Sternberg, head of the Department of Medical Oncology at the San Camillo and Forlanini Hospitals in Rome, Italy, said. Abiraterone acetate is an oral drug designed to restrict the production of androgens by the prostate tumor, as well as the adrenal glands and testes.
Through retrospective analysis, Dr Sternberg and colleagues assessed the effect of abiraterone acetate therapy on patient-reported fatigue using data from the COU-AA-301 international phase 3 study.1 The randomized study included 1195 patients diagnosed with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, who had previously undergone chemotherapy using the drug docetaxel. All patients received the steroid prednisone and either abiraterone acetate (797 patients) or placebo (398 patients). The Brief Fatigue Inventory questionnaire was used at various times during the study to measure patient-reported fatigue.
Throughout the duration of the study, patients who received abiraterone acetate had notably improved patient-reported outcomes related to fatigue compared to the placebo group. In fact, the patients who received abiraterone acetate showed a significant delay in the progression of fatigue intensity and interference with general activity, mood, relationships, walking, work, and enjoyment of life.
For these particular prostrate cancer patients who have limited available therapeutic options, significant advances against fatigue are important, according to Dr. Sternberg. She added, “The future looks brighter for men with this disease and with several new therapies recently approved for advanced prostate cancer, we have more hope for our patients, because they are not only living longer, they are also living better. I think this is a huge step forward in the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.”
1. de Bono JS, et al. N Engl J Med. 2011;364(21):1995-2005.
Source: ECCO