Combination chemotherapy with weekly docetaxel and estramustine for hormone refractory prostate cancer in Japanese patients

Abstract:   The aim is to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of weekly docetaxel and estramustine for Japanese men with hormone refractory prostate cancer who were treated at a single institution. Twenty eligible patients had histologically proven adenocarcinoma of the prostate with metastases that were progressing despite complete androgen blockade and antiandrogen withdrawal. All of the patients received docetaxel 30 mg/m² weekly (days 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and 36). After a two week break, the treatment schedule was repeated. Patients were scheduled to receive daily oral estramustine 560 mg/day throughout the protocol. In the serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) response, three (15%) patients achieved a complete response, and 8 (40%) acheived a partial response. Overall survival and time to progression were 13.4 months and 6.4 months, respectively, however sixty-seven percent of the patients had to discontinue treatment because of toxicity. The high toxicity of this protocol suggests that the regimen and/or the timing should be altered for Japanese patients.