Onkológia 4/2014

Castration resistant prostate cancer – something new in the year 2014?

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most frequent solid neoplasm in Europe and therefore is regarded as one of the major medical problem of the male population. PC is extremely complicated and interindividual different tumor. The method of treatment depends on several factors, but mainly on the stage of prostate cancer. The term Hormone resistant (refractory) prostate cancer (HRPC) was used in older terminology. HRPC is cancer that progresses despite castrate levels of testosterone achieved androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), wchich is resistant to any hormonal therapy. Currently is increasingly used (instead of name HRPC) name CRPC – so called PC resistant for castration (CRPC – castration resistant prostate cancer), which is still able to respond to certain hormonal manipulation, although it meets the the criteria for HRPC. This state probably arises from either clonal selection of androgen – independent cell lines or increased ligand – independent activation of androgen receptors. Men with CRPC are quite a heterogeneous group; they include men with increasing prostate specific antigen (PSA) only and no demonstrable metastases, and men who have many bone and/ or visceral metastases, pain and poor functional status. Survival can range from only a few months to 4 years or more. Historically, therapy had little effect beyond modest palliation. More recently, significantly more options have become available and there are now several treatments that not only improve quality of life and pain palliation, but also increase overall survival. Some of the trials with important results for the treatment of CRPC are summarized in this paper. Objectives of article: provide information to the general medical community (and especially urologists and oncologists) about the possible pathogenesis of CRPC, complicated issues of treatment and evaluation of its effectiveness in patients with CRPC. The article presented basic data on the current and future possibilities of such therapy. Increasing basic knowledge about treating CRPC should improve the care of patients with advanced PC.

Keywords: castration refractory (resistant) prostate cancer, definition, diagnosis, therapy, therapy perspective, evaluation of the effectiveness of treatment.