Drug Management of Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common noncutaneous prostate cancer. Research has revealed several distinct malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer mechanisms of castration-resistant disease that may deaths among men in the United States. It is a critical converge in patients with disease progression on public health problem and remains incurable in the ADT. Many approaches are currently being evaluated metastatic setting with mortality that usually occurs as to improve the treatment of this condition and these a result of castration-resistant disease. fndings have identifed several potential targets for Since Huggins and Hodges' report of the dra- therapeutic intervention. These include drugs that are matic clinical effects of suppressing serum testos- more active or less toxic chemotherapy agents; drugs terone levels in men with advanced prostate cancer that induce androgen deprivation; drugs that target in 1941, hormone therapy (also called androgen the androgen receptor and/or androgen synthesis; deprivation therapy [ADT]) has become widely drugs that target specifc pathways, including ang- accepted as the mainstay of therapy for the treat- genesis and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, endothelin ment of advanced prostate cancer. ADT combined antagonists and matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors; with radiation therapy is a standard of care in the and immunologic approaches. Many of these agents treatment of men with locally advanced prostate seem promising and the rationale and effcacy of cancer on the basis of evidence that shows improved these emerging therapies remain to be validated in survival. The role of ADT in the management of future clinical trials.