A Prospective Randomized Trial of Neoadjuvant Chemohormonal Therapy vs Hormonal Therapy in Locally Advanced Prostate...

Benefits of docetaxel-based neoadjuvant chemohormonal therapy (NCHT) before radical prostatectomy (RP) remain largely unknown. We explored whether docetaxel-based NCHT would bring pathological benefits and improve biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS) over neoadjuvant hormonal therapy (NHT) in locally advanced prostate cancer.

A randomized trial was designed recruiting 141 locally advanced, high-risk prostate cancer patients who were randomly assigned at the ratio of 2:1 to the NCHT group (75 mg/m² body surface area every 3 weeks plus androgen deprivation therapy for 6 cycles) and the NHT group (androgen deprivation therapy for 24 weeks). The primary end point was 3-year bPFS. Secondary end points were pathological response including pathological downstaging and minimal residual disease rates.

The NCHT group showed significant benefits in 3-year bPFS compared to the NHT group (29% vs 9.5%, P = .002). At a median follow-up of 53 months, the NCHT group achieved a significantly longer median bPFS time than the NHT group (17 months vs 14 months). No significant differences were found between the 2 groups in pathological downstaging and minimal residual disease rates.

NCHT plus RP achieved significant bPFS benefits when compared with NHT plus RP in high-risk, locally advanced prostate cancer. A larger cohort with longer follow-up duration is essential in further investigation.