[Experience with sunitinib in hormone-resistant metastatic prostate cancer that is unresponsive to docetaxel]

Introduction: systemic treatment options for patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) that progress despite the use of Docetaxel are very limited. One of the options of compassionate use currently available is the use of Sunitinib. We present a joint preliminary experience with the use of Sunitinib in this clinical case.

Patients and methods: a series of eight cases is presented, which sets forth a prospective multicentre experience with Sunitinib in patients with hormone-refractory metastatic and progressive prostate cancer, previously treated with at least a regime of Docetaxel-based chemotherapy. Other alternative chemotherapy regimes had already been tried in some patients. The primary objective of our study was the PSA response rate and our secondary objective was the progression-free period. We administered a dosage of 50mg/day for four-week cycles, followed by a two-week rest per cycle, until we reached a total of eight cycles or up to clinical progression or intolerable toxicity.

Results: in four cases, the PSA dropped to below 50% of the baseline level at the beginning of the treatment, and five patients presented some decrease in PSA. The progression-free time was 16.4 weeks. Toxicity arising from the treatment was moderate and manageable.

Conclusions: despite the limits of this experience, we can say that Sunitinib appears to be an active and safe option in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer that is resistant to chemotherapy with Docetaxel.