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Chemotherapy and Prostate Cancer

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Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy in Urologic Oncology

Abstract

Chemotherapy treatment options for prostate cancer (PC) are very limited and it may not always be indicated depending on the disease state. The three FDA-approved chemotherapies for PC are docetaxel, cabazitaxel, and mitoxantrone in combination with prednisone. The most common cytotoxic chemotherapy is taxane derivatives. Docetaxel is used as first-line chemotherapy with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) and metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients. Cabazitaxel is used as second-line chemotherapy when patients do not tolerate or progressed during or after docetaxel with mCRPC patients. The taxane derivatives have shown to improve overall survival in men with mCRPC. Other chemotherapies like carboplatin, etoposide, or cisplatin may be considered when mCRPC patients with visceral metastases involving neuroendocrine or small cell features upon biopsy. Side effects that are commonly associated with these chemotherapies are fatigue, nausea, vomiting, taste change, mouth sores, nail changes, liver toxicity, alopecia, renal toxicity, neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, fluid retention/edema. Closely monitor laboratory results, and side effects prior to each administration is crucial to prevent severe toxicities. Due to the limitation of chemotherapy option for PC patients, ongoing clinical trials are needed to investigate and develop more treatment options for patients with PC.

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Correspondence to Miranda L. Tsang .

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Tsang, M.L. (2021). Chemotherapy and Prostate Cancer. In: Trabulsi, E.J., Lallas, C.D., Lizardi-Calvaresi, A.E. (eds) Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy in Urologic Oncology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52021-2_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52021-2_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-52020-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-52021-2

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