Adriamycin and cyclophosphamide versus hydroxyurea in advanced prostatic cancer. A randomized Southwest Oncology Group study

Abstract

Over a 24-month period, the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) conducted a randomized prospective chemotherapeutic trial in 158 patients with advanced prostatic cancer. Patients were initially randomized to receive either a combination of Adriamycin and cyclophosphamide (AC) or a single agent, hydroxyurea (H), and then crossed over to the other treatment on failure. Of the 137 evaluable patients, 43 (31%) had classically measurable metastatic disease in the lymph nodes, skin, chest, or liver. Focusing their efforts on this subset of patients with measurable disease, the authors of this report found the combination AC to have a superior response rate to the single agent, hydroxyurea. Objective response to AC was seen in 6 of 19 (32%) and in only one of 24 (4%) patients randomized to hydroxyurea (P = 0.06, Fisher's exact test). However, in the larger group of 137 evaluable patients, a survival advantage was not seen for those individuals treated with AC. Failure to demonstrate a survival advantage for an objectively superior drug combination would suggest the need for more active phase II agents in this disease.