ABSTRACT

Hong Kong Med J 2013;19:237–41 | Number 3, June 2013 | Epub 3 Apr 2013
DOI: 10.12809/hkmj133804
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Docetaxel chemotherapy for Chinese patients with castrate-resistant prostate cancer
FY Cheung, KC Leung, Roger KC Ngan
Department of Clinical Oncology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, 30 Gascoigne Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong
 
 
OBJECTIVE. To determine the effectiveness and toxicity of docetaxel for Chinese patients with castrate-resistant prostate cancer in a local Hong Kong hospital.
 
DESIGN. Case series.
 
SETTING. A tertiary cancer centre in Hong Kong.
 
PATIENTS. In all, 39 castrate-resistant prostate cancer patients were treated with 3-weekly docetaxel at 75 mg/m2 and prednisolone 10 mg daily between January 2006 and December 2011 in Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
 
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. Prostate-specific antigen control rate, pain control rate, progression-free survival, overall survival, and complication rates.
 
RESULTS. The prostate-specific antigen response rate was 36%, and 27 (69%) of the patients had improved pain control after chemotherapy. The median progression-free survival, cancer-specific survival, and overall survival was 7.8 (95% confidence interval, 4.9-10.8) months, 13.0 (95% confidence interval, 9.6-16.3) months, and 12.2 (95% confidence interval, 9.3-15.1) months, respectively. The grade 3 anaemia and thrombocytopenia rates were 5%, and the neutropenic fever rate was 8%.
 
CONCLUSIONS. hemotherapy with docetaxel at a dose of 75 mg/m2 given once every 3 weeks together with daily prednisolone is well tolerated in Chinese and can offer good symptom palliation in suitable patients with castrate-resistant prostate cancer.
 
Key words: Androgen antagonists; Drug therapy; Prostate neoplasms; Survival
 
View this abstract indexed in MEDLINE: