[Docetaxel for metastatic prostate cancer: early is better]

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been used to treat patients with metastatic prostate cancer for many years. Docetaxel chemotherapy administered to patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer has been standard since 2004 with a modest survival benefit. Recent data from two randomised studies (CHAARTED and STAMPEDE) demonstrate that combining ADT with docetaxel in men with hormone-naïve metastatic prostate cancer resulted in an impressive overall survival benefit of more than a year as compared with ADT alone. In a meta-analysis, the consistency of these data was confirmed. On the basis of these data, addition of six 3-weekly courses of docetaxel to ADT should be considered as standard treatment in chemo-fit patients with hormone-naïve metastatic prostate cancer.