Abstract
Background: Lacking head-to-head trial, the optimal treatment for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) after docetaxel failure is unclear. This study is to compare the efficacy and safety of systemic treatments in patients who progressed after docetaxel to aid clinical decision-making. Methods: Databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched from inception to June 15th, 2021. The outcomes of interest include overall survival (OS), biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS), and serious adverse events (SAEs). The Cochrane risk of bias tools were used to assess study quality. Indirect comparisons of competing treatments were performed via Bayesian network meta-analysis. Results: Five trials with 3,862 patients comparing four treatments (abiraterone, enzalutamide, cabazitaxel, and radium-223) were identified. All the four treatments were associated with improved OS and bPFS relative to best supportive care. Among them, enzalutamide (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.58, 95% credible interval [Crl]: 0.49–0.69) had the highest probability of ranking first in terms of OS, followed by cabazitaxel (HR = 0.70, 95% Crl: 0.59–0.83), radium-223 (HR = 0.71, 95% Crl: 0.56–0.90) and abiraterone (HR = 0.73, 95% Crl: 0.63–0.84). Similarly, enzalutamide (HR = 0.25, 95% Crl: 0.20–0.31) showed the greatest improvement of bPFS, followed by abiraterone (HR = 0.60, 95% Crl: 0.51–0.71) and cabazitaxel (HR = 0.75, 95% Crl: 0.63–0.89). In terms of safety, treatments ranked from the safest to the least safe were radium-223 (OR = 0.58, 95% Crl: 0.20–1.68), enzalutamide (OR = 0.80, 95% Crl: 0.28–2.29), abiraterone (OR = 0.94, 95% Crl: 0.39–2.27) and cabazitaxel (OR = 2.50, 95% Crl: 0.84–7.44). Conclusion: For patients with mCRPC who progressed after docetaxel, enzalutamide may offer the most significant survival benefits and satisfying safety. Cabazitaxel is effective in post-docetaxel settings but associated with a high risk of SAEs. Although network meta-analysis provides indirect comparisons and ranking probabilities, the results should be treated with caution as it cannot replace randomized direct comparison. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42020223040, identifier CRD42020223040.
Highlights
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignancy in men in America accounting for 26% of cancer diagnoses (Siegel et al, 2021)
All the four treatments were associated with improved overall survival (OS) and biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS) relative to best supportive care
For patients with Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who progressed after docetaxel, enzalutamide may offer the most significant survival benefits and satisfying safety
Summary
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignancy in men in America accounting for 26% of cancer diagnoses (Siegel et al, 2021). Most patients with metastatic PCa are initially hormonesensitive and controlled by androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT), diseases progression is inevitable and patients eventually develop castration-resistant diseases (Galletti et al, 2017). Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is highly aggressive with a median survival ranging from 17.5 to 34.7 months (Petrylak et al, 2004; Berthold et al, 2008; Beer et al, 2014; Ryan et al, 2015). Most patients receiving docetaxel progress within 1 year (Petrylak et al, 2004; Berthold et al, 2008). Lacking head-to-head trial, the optimal treatment for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) after docetaxel failure is unclear. This study is to compare the efficacy and safety of systemic treatments in patients who progressed after docetaxel to aid clinical decision-making
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