Emerging drugs in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is increasing in incidence more rapidly than any other malignancy. It is now the most common malignancy in men in the United States. Trends in the management of prostate cancer include earlier diagnosis and earlier intervention with surgery, radiotherapy and systemic treatments. Currently, apart from supportive care, the primary systemic treatments are endocrine therapies, in particular, LHRH agonists and anti-androgens. These agents may be used in different ways in future, particularly as adjuncts to radical local treatment which raises the prospect of improved survival. Novel therapeutic approaches such as signal transduction, anti-angiogenesis and cancer vaccines offer the best potential for the future since these are hormone-independent approaches and should therefore work across the whole range of prostate cancer. Most compounds of these kinds, however, are still early in development and are not yet proven for the management of this disease.