Methylglyoxal-bis(guanylhydrazone) in hormone-resistant adenocarcinoma of the prostate

Methylglyoxal-bis(guanylhydrazone) (MGBG), an inhibitor of polyamine synthesis, was administered to 35 patients with hormone-resistant advanced adenocarcinoma of the prostate in doses of 500 or 600 mg/m2 per week intravenously. Of 31 patients with bidimensional measurable soft-tissue lesions, 25 had an adequate trial, defined as four or more doses. Six (24%; 95% confidence limits, 8% to 32%) patients achieved a partial remission (greater than or equal to 50% reduction in tumor size) in soft-tissue disease. Response was noted to start after one to two doses and persisted for a median of three months (range, 1 to 4 months). Toxicity was tolerable, and significant myelosuppression was not observed. The lack of response in osseous metastases may be secondary to the short duration of remission or to the presence or inducibility of the enzyme ornithine decarboxylase in bone. Since some animal prostatic cancer tumor models are sensitive to cytotoxic drugs that produce polyamine inhibition, clinical trials of MGBG combined with other inhibitors of the polyamine pathway should be explored.