The use of estramustine and prednimustine versus prednimustine alone in advanced metastatic prostatic cancer patients who have received prior irradiation

Abstract

Estramustine has been shown previously to be an effective drug in the treatment of metastatic prostatic cancer, demonstrating significant objective and subjective responses in long-term non-randomized trials and in other randomized trials. In this study prednimustine alone has shown a minimal over-all objective response rate of 12.9% of the cases, although with marked subjective improvement of pain relief and patient performance status. The combination of prednimustine with estramustine did not result in improvement of objective or subjective response parameters. The effects in terms of responses or in terms of toxicity for either agent were not additive when they were given in combination. Cross-over for those patients whose disease progressed on prednimustine therapy to estramustine had some benefit in over-all survival. Prednimustine alone or in combination with estramustine may be used safely and could improve markedly the quality of life for irradiated patients with advanced prostatic cancer who failed on hormonal treatment and have too poor a bone marrow reserve to be treated by other currently available myelosuppressive agents.