Metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer: recent advances in standard treatment paradigm, and future directions

Until recently, docetaxel-based chemotherapy was the only established treatment for patients with metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer (mHRPC). In 2010 to 2011, 3 more agents were shown to be associated with a survival benefit in mHRPC, including the dendritic cell vaccine sipuleucel-T, the 17,20 lyase inhibitor abiraterone, and the taxane cabazitaxel. The improved understanding of prostate cancer biology in recent years led to the development of drugs directed against precise tumorigenesis-associated molecular pathways. Molecular pathways involved in the progression of mHRPC include the androgen receptor, angiogenesis, endothelin receptor, tyrosine kinases (SRC, MET, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, RET), and the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB-ligand. This review will focus on recent advances in the standard treatments paradigm, and promising new targeted agents that are being investigated, in mHRPC.