Understanding the role of new systemic agents in the treatment of prostate cancer

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To examine the current literature and identify key consensus findings from the available studies to better educate urologists and medical oncologists on agents used in the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer (mPC). METHODS: Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of the available literature on reported trials of systemic therapies for mPC. Two search terms were used: 'metastatic prostate cancer' and 'treatment'. RESULTS: A variety of agents have demonstrated improved overall survival in patients with mPC. Twenty recently documented trials were reported in the literature with a focus on enzalutamide, abiraterone acetate, docetaxel and other newer agents. These studies were grouped based on patient populations. CONCLUSION: The increasing number of high-quality clinical trials, with overlapping patient populations has made defining the correct therapy for men with mPC challenging for urologists and medical oncologists. The data suggests that the optimal sequence of drugs is not only unknown but also not necessarily the same for each patient. As such, we suggest a more individualized approach to the treatment of prostate cancer depending on patient and disease factors.