[Consensus on castration-resistant prostate cancer management in Spain]

Abstract

Objectives: To move towards a more standardized approach in clinical practice to manage patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) in Spain.

Methods: A panel of 18 Spanish experts in Urology with expertise managing CRPC followed a modified Delphi process with two rounds and a final face-to-face consensus meeting. The panel considered a total of 106 clinical questions divided into the following 6 sections: definition of CRPC, diagnosis of metastases by imaging techniques, symptoms of CRPC, progression of CRPC, M0 and M1 management and therapeutic sequencing.

Results: A bone scan (BS) is recommended at diagnosis, at the onset of bone pain, and depending on PSA levels, but it is not sensitive enough to confirm or exclude bone metastases if there is bone pain. Whole-body MRI and axial MRI are more sensitive than BS and plain X-rays, but more expensive, so they have to be used in certain situations. There is CRPC progression when there is radiologic, clinical or confirmed PSA progression. Flare phenomenon appears in treatment with taxanes and abiraterone. It was agreed that in M0 CRPC patients no drug treatment is currently recommended, although in M1 CRPC patients the first-line therapy would be mainly enzalutamide/abiraterone and/or docetaxel, depending on the symptom burden.

Conclusion: After the consensus, we provide a series of recommendations for Spanish physicians treating CRPC to address the disease characteristics,how to tailor patient management decisions, the use of imaging techniques, and how to handle disease progression appropriately to improve patients' quality of life.