[Combination therapy with estramustine and docetaxel for hormone refractory prostate cancer]

Six patients with hormone refractory prostate cancer were orally administered 560 mg of Estramustine daily in 2 equally divided doses for four or five days. In addition 70 mg/m2 of Docetaxel was infused through intravenous drip from day 1, decreasing to 40-60 mg/m2 if any side effects such as bone marrow depression were observed. One cycle was three weeks in hospital and one month after discharge. Patients were treated until progression or the development of treatment-limiting toxicity. In five of the six patients (83.3%), serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) was decreased by more than 50%. Currently, this therapy is ongoing in four outpatients. A side effect of leucopenia (grade 2 or 3) was observed in all patients. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) formulation was given as treatment. One case was withdrawn due to loss of appetite after one cycle. This therapy is considered to be effective against hormone refractory prostate cancer. However, further examination is needed about dosage and dosing regimen of Estramustine and Docetaxel.