Treatment of Hormone Resistance with Docetaxel in Metastatic Prostate Cancer Patients: Results of a Clinical Experience at Omid Hospital, Isfahan, Iran

Background: Metastatic prostate cancer is one of the most important cancers among men worldwide. Androgen ablation therapy can be used in treatment of these patients; however, most will progress to metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer. In this regard, docetaxel has been approved to treat metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer in the United States. In this study, we aimed to investigate the results of this treatment modality in metastatic prostate cancer patients from Iran.Methods:We evaluated PSA response and bone pain relief in ۱۸ metastatic prostate cancer patients who underwent treatment with docetaxel at a dose of ۷۵ mg/m۲ intravenously on the first day of treatment. The treatment was repeated every three weeks (۶ cycles) along with ۱۰ mg of prednisolone.Results: Of ۱۸ patients, ۳۹% had >۵۰% decline in PSA levels.There were ۱۶% of the patients with a PSA decline of approximately ۳۰% to ۵۰% of the pre-treatment levels. In addition, ۲۹% of the patients had progressive PSA levels during chemotherapy. Among them, ۵۵% had significant pain relief.Conclusion: This research showed the effectiveness of docetaxel to decrease PSA levels in metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer patients from Iran. Docetaxel was also valuable in alleviation of pain in these patients. However, prospective studies should validate this approach.