Prostatic carcinoma. relationship between primary tumor, histologic grade, and response to chemotherapy

This National Cooperative Study has randomly compared the usefulness of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) and standard therapy in patients with advanced carcinoma of the prostate (Stage D). All patients studied were endocrine failures and were in progression. Favorable responses were seen with all three treatments regardless of histologic grade. Actual tumor regression occurred only in patients who received either 5-FU or cyclophosphamide. In patients with poorly differentiated or anaplastic tumors treated with cyclophosphamide, progression of disease was significantly less rapid than in patients treated with 5-FU or standard therapy. However, favorable responders could not always be identified in advance on the basis of histologic grade alone.