Aims and background: Prostate cancer is a common disease in older men. Since it is hormone resistant, no treatment may improve survival. In patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer, clinical benefit is an important treatment end point.
Study design: This study evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of a vinorelbine and prednisone combination in hormone-refractory prostate cancer patients. Vinorelbine was administered at the dose of 25 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8, every three weeks; prednisone was administered orally at the dose of 12 mg/day. Thirty consecutive patients, 65 years or older, with progressive (PSA increase or increase in bidimensionally measurable lesion) metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma were enrolled. Four patients (13%) had a partial response and 14 (46%) stable disease. Time to progression for the entire group was 4.5 months (range, 2-13) and 7.5 months for the group of responders (range, 3-13). A PSA decrease >50% was registered in 36% of the patients. Pain reduction was recorded in 44.4% of the patients and stability in 14.8%.
Results: The treatment was well tolerated and grade 3 toxicity was found in 2 cases of anemia and 2 cases of leukopenia without fever.
Conclusions: The schedule is able to control the evolution of hormone-refractory prostate cancer and to give a clinical benefit. These results provide information for further clinical trials in a large series of elderly cancer patients.