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Apalutamide (APA) is an androgen receptor signaling inhibitor widely used for metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), though it can induce hypothyroidism. We report a severe case of APA-induced hypothyroidism in a patient with a history of total thyroidectomy. A 65-year-old man receiving levothyroxine (175 μg/day) after thyroidectomy was diagnosed with mHSPC (Gleason score 4 + 4; PSA 13 904 ng/mL) with findings suggestive of cancer-associated disseminated intravascular coagulation. Following APA initiation (240 mg/day), PSA decreased rapidly to 0.01 ng/mL. However, TSH levels rose progressively despite increasing levothyroxine to 275 μg/day. After a 4-month follow-up interruption, TSH reached 187.9 mIU/L. APA withdrawal led to rapid TSH improvement. Careful TSH monitoring is essential during APA treatment, especially in patients with pre-existing thyroid dysfunction or prior thyroidectomy. Appropriate levothyroxine titration and multidisciplinary collaboration are essential for the continuation of oncological therapy with APA.

A randomized trial tested whether the addition of apalutamide, an androgen receptor blocker, to androgen-deprivation therapy might improve radiographic (including MRI-detected) progression–free survival and overall survival. Apalutamide was significantly more effective than placebo for both end points.

Androgen receptor (AR) is a steroid receptor transcriptional factor for testosterone and dihydrotestosterone consisting of four main domains, the N-terminal domain, DNA-binding domain, hinge region, and ligand-binding domain. AR plays pivotal roles in prostate cancer, especially castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Androgen deprivation therapy can suppress hormone-naïve prostate cancer, but prostate cancer changes AR and adapts to survive under castration levels of androgen. These mechanisms include AR point mutations, AR overexpression, changes of androgen biosynthesis, constitutively active AR splice variants without ligand binding, and changes of androgen cofactors. Studies of AR in CRPC revealed that AR was still active in CRPC, and it remains as a potential target to treat CRPC. Enzalutamide is a second-generation antiandrogen effective in patients with CRPC before and after taxane-based chemotherapy. However, CRPC is still incurable and can develop drug resistance. Understanding the mechanisms of this resistance can enable new-generation therapies for CRPC. Several promising new AR-targeted therapies have been developed. Apalutamide is a new Food and Drug Administration-approved androgen agonist binding to the ligand-binding domain, and clinical trials of other new AR-targeted agents binding to the ligand-binding domain or N-terminal domain are underway. This review focuses on the functions of AR in prostate cancer and the development of CRPC and promising new agents against CRPC.

Apalutamide is used in the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer. A simple, specific, selective, and effective liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for quantifying apalutamide and its active metabolite concentration in human plasma was developed and validated according to the FDA and EMA validation guidelines. A total of 24 patients diagnosed with desmoplasia-resistant prostate cancer (NM-CRPC) were recruited. Blood samples were drawn after 4 weeks' administration of apalutamide at a dose of 180 mg once daily to ensure steady-state blood levels were achieved. Apalutamide and N-desmethyl apalutamide were analysed by quantitative liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to measure the concentrations among individuals and the effect on the baseline level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and adverse events. The linear range, precision, accuracy, matrix effect, recovery, carryover, and stability were appropriate according to the FDA and EMA validation guidelines. The apalutamide blood concentration range of the 24 patients was 0.517-7.27 μg/mL, and the median value was 4.92 μg/mL. The N-desmethyl apalutamide blood concentration range was 1.78-8.32 μg/mL, and the median value was 5.71 μg/mL. The median serum PSA level decreased from 61.03 (range 0.57-885.93) ng/mL at baseline to 0.970 (range 0.01-47.9) ng/mL at week 4. Therapeutic drug monitoring can help evaluate the individual differences between patients taking apalutamide. A dose of 180 mg could reduce the baseline PSA level significantly (p < 0.05), and the incidence of skin rash was less compared to that of a dose of 240 mg.

The final analysis of the phase 3 Targeted Investigational Treatment Analysis of Novel Anti-androgen (TITAN) trial showed improvement in overall survival (OS) and other efficacy endpoints with apalutamide plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) versus ADT alone in patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC). As ethnicity and regional differences may affect treatment outcomes in advanced prostate cancer, a post hoc final analysis was conducted to assess the efficacy and safety of apalutamide in the Asian subpopulation. Event-driven endpoints were OS, and time from randomization to initiation of castration resistance, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression, and second progression-free survival (PFS2) on first subsequent therapy or death. Efficacy endpoints were assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional-hazards models without formal statistical testing and adjustment for multiplicity. Participating Asian patients received once-daily apalutamide 240 mg (n = 111) or placebo (n = 110) plus ADT. After a median follow-up of 42.5 months and despite crossover of 47 placebo recipients to open-label apalutamide, apalutamide reduced the risk of death by 32% (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.68; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.42-1.13), risk of castration resistance by 69% (HR: 0.31; 95% CI: 0.21-0.46), PSA progression by 79% (HR: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.13-0.35) and PFS2 by 24% (HR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.44-1.29) relative to placebo. The outcomes were comparable between subgroups with low- and high-volume disease at baseline. No new safety issues were identified. Apalutamide provides valuable clinical benefits to Asian patients with mCSPC, with an efficacy and safety profile consistent with that in the overall patient population.

Ethnicity might be associated with treatment outcomes in advanced prostate cancer. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) combined with apalutamide in East Asians with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC). The original phase 3 Targeted Investigational Treatment Analysis of Novel Anti-androgen (TITAN) trial was conducted at 260 sites in 23 countries. This subgroup analysis included patients enrolled in 62 participating centers in China, Japan, and Korea. Radiographic progression-free survival (PFS), time to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression, and PSA changes from baseline were compared between groups in the East Asian population. The intent-to-treat East Asian population included 111 and 110 participants in the apalutamide and placebo groups, respectively. The 24-month radiographic PFS rates were 76.1% and 52.3% in the apalutamide and placebo groups, respectively (apalutamide vs placebo: hazard ratio [HR] = 0.506; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.302-0.849; P = 0.009). Median time to PSA progression was more favorable with apalutamide than placebo (HR = 0.210; 95% CI, 0.124-0.357; P < 0.001). Median maximum percentages of PSA decline from baseline were 99.0% and 73.9% in the apalutamide and placebo groups, respectively. The most common adverse event (AE) was rash in the apalutamide group, with a higher rate than that in the placebo group (37.3% vs 9.1%). The most common grade 3 or 4 AEs were rash (12 [10.9%]) and hypertension (12 [10.9%]) for apalutamide. The efficacy and safety of apalutamide in the East Asian subgroup of the TITAN trial are consistent with the global results.

Abstract Context With new treatment strategies approved in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), heterogeneity across trials hinders the physicians’ choice for first-line treatment. Objective We conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis to assess the efficacy of currently approved treatments for mHSPC stratifying patients according to their disease burden (high- vs. low-volume as per CHAARTED criteria) and onset of metastatic disease (synchronous vs. metachronous). Intervention Eleven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published until October 30, 2024 were included. Treatment regimens were grouped as triplets for combinations of docetaxel, androgen receptor pathway inhibitors (ARPIs) and androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT), separate doublets for docetaxel plus ADT, ARPI plus ADT, or monotherapy for ADT alone. Outcome Measurements and Statistical Analysis Overall survival (OS) and radiographic progression-free survival (rPFS) outcomes were collected. OS as primary endpoint, and rPFS as secondary endpoint, were analyzed separately in high- and low-volume patients. Additional subgroup analyses accounted for timing of metastases categorized as high-volume/synchronous, high-volume/metachronous, low-volume/synchronous, and low-volume/metachronous disease. Evidence Synthesis Triplet combinations prolonged significantly OS and rPFS in high-volume disease (P-score 0.99), and high-volume/synchronous disease (P-score 0.99). ARPI/ADT doublets performed best in low-volume patients (P-score 0.94), and low-volume/metachronous (P-score 0.99). In the high-volume/metachronous population, triplets, and doublets were equally effective. Conclusions The results provide collective evidence for treatment selection based on disease volume and timing of metastasis with strongest survival benefits of triplets for high-volume/synchronous mHSPC patients and of ARPI doublets for low-volume disease.

Therapeutic strategies for prostate cancer are currently undergoing a paradigm shift due to the advent of next-generation androgen receptor inhibitors. Among these inhibitors, apalutamide is regarded as a key drug because of its effectiveness. However, risk factors for and the timing of the onset of apalutamide-related cutaneous adverse events remain unclear. Therefore, the present study investigated key risk factors for and timing of the onset of apalutamide-related cutaneous adverse events. Sixty-two Japanese patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with 240 mg/day of apalutamide were enrolled in the present study. Twenty-four patients (38.7%) developed cutaneous adverse events. Multivariable logistic regression analysis of age, height, and body weight identified body weight as a significant predictive factor for the incidence of cutaneous adverse events (p=0.019). When the mean body weight of patients (63.80 kg) was set as the cut-off value, the Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the risk of cutaneous adverse events was significantly increased in those with a body weight <63.8 kg (p=0.003, the log-rank test). The analysis also showed that cutaneous adverse events developed within the first 6 months regardless of body weight. A lower body weight is a significant risk factor for apalutamide-related cutaneous adverse events and their onset is within 6 months of initiation of therapy.

Abstract The second-generation antiandrogens have achieved an ever-growing list of approvals and indications in subsets of prostate cancer. Here, we provide an overview of second-generation antiandrogen trials and FDA approvals and outline a rational sequencing approach for the use of these agents as they relate to chemotherapy and other available treatment modalities in advanced prostate cancer. All published phase II-III randomized controlled trials reporting outcomes with the use of second-generation antiandrogens in prostate cancer are included as well as all published trials and retrospective studies of second-generation antiandrogen sequencing and/or combinations. Complete tabular and graphical representation of all available evidence is provided regarding the use and sequencing of second-generation antiandrogens in prostate cancer. In metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, evidence suggests prioritization of abiraterone before chemotherapy, chemotherapy after second-generation antiandrogen failure, and postchemotherapy enzalutamide in select patients to maximize agent efficacy and tolerability. We conclude that a rational, optimized sequencing of second-generation antiandrogens with other treatment options is feasible with present data. Considering the available data, this article provides an overview of second-generation antiandrogen trials and FDA approvals and outlines a rational sequencing approach for the use of these agents as they relate to chemotherapy and other available treatment modalities in advanced prostate cancer.

The treatment landscape for patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) has changed dramatically in the past five years, despite little change in the preceding 20 years. Such rapid change can make it difficult for clinicians to remain abreast of the current literature and synthesize the relevant data to inform evidence-based treatment decisions. We performed a narrative, comprehensive review of treatment options for patients with mHSPC as of December 31, 2019. Specifically, we focused on phase II and III randomized controlled trials assessing the role of chemotherapy, novel androgen axis targeting agents, local-(prostate) directed therapy, and metastasis-directed therapy. The data support a survival benefit with the addition of four different agents to androgen deprivation among men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer-docetaxel, abiraterone acetate, enzalutamide, and apalutamide. While not directly compared, the efficacy of these agents appears similar. That said, there are differences in their toxicity profiles and notable differences in cost between agents. Although analyses encompassing men with low- and high-volume metastases failed to demonstrate a significant survival benefit for radiotherapy treatment to the prostate, new data demonstrates a benefit for men with low-volume metastatic disease. Ongoing trials will assess whether this applies to local surgical treatment. Similarly, metastasis-directed therapy appears beneficial among carefully selected patients. Treatment options for patients with mHSPC are rapidly changing following years of stagnation. A number of systemic therapies offer benefit without significant clinical differences between them. The role for local treatment of the prostate as well as metastatic sites continues to evolve.