Unregistered User If this is not your name, click here.
		Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague
	Select a ChannelAcneAIDS and HIVAllergy OtherAlzheimer'sAnaesthesiology OtherAngina Pectoris/MIAnxietyArthritis OtherAsthmaBack PainBacterial InfectionsBladder CancerBone Marrow TransplantationBreast CancerCardiology OtherCataractCell TransplantationCervical CancerCholesterol/Lipid disordersCirrhosisClinical PharmacologyColorectal CancerCongestive Heart FailureContact DermatitisContraceptionCOPDCystic FibrosisDental and Oral DisordersDepressionDermatology OtherDiabetesDialysisEating DisordersElbowEmergency MedicineEndocrinology OtherEpilepsyErectile DysfunctionFibromyalgiaGastro OtherGeneticsGenitourinary OtherGeriatricsGERD/GastritisGlaucomaH. Pylori/UlcerHaematology OtherHair LossHeadachesHepa/Biliary OtherHepatitisHipHRTHypertensionIBDImmunologyInfectious OtherInfertilityIntensive CareIrritable Bowel SyndromeKneeLeukemiasLiver CancerLung CancerLupusLymphomasMelanomaMenopauseMultiple Sclerosis Nephrology OtherNeurologic OtherNutritional / Metabolic OtherOb/Gyn OtherObesityOncology OtherOphth. OtherOphthalmic SurgeryOrgan TransplantationOrthopaedics OtherOsteoarthritisOsteoporosisOtitisOtorhino. OtherOvarian CancerPaediatricsPainPancreatic CancerParkinson'sPregnancyProstate CancerPsychiatry OtherPulmonary OtherRadiologyRenal CancerRenal FailureRespiratory InfectionsRheumatoid arthritisRheumatology OtherRhinitisSchizophreniaShoulderSleep ApnoeaSleep DisordersSpineStrokeSTDsSurgeryThyroid DisordersTransfusionTransplant Surgery OtherTraumaUrinary IncontinenceUrinary tract infectionsVaccinologyVascular DisordersViral Infections

SEARCH   News Bookstore Medline The Web Meetings & Congresses Complete Doctor's Guide    EXPLORE :    All News   All Webcasts   All Cases   All Meetings & Congresses   All Medical Resources New drugs / indications English Dictionary Medical Dictionary Thesaurus Warning | Privacy | Awards  Favourite Journals  Click here to choose your favourite journals  Favourite Sites  Click here to choose your favourite sites  Languages  Select languageEnglishFrançais

Adding Estramustine to Chemotherapy Improves Survival in Patients With Castration-Refractory Prostate Cancer LONDON, U.K. -- October 16, 2007 -- The addition of estramustine to chemotherapy improves overall survival in patients with castration-refractory prostate cancer compared with survival noted in those given chemotherapy alone, but this benefit has to be balanced against increases in toxicity, according to an article in The Lancet Oncology to be published Online today, Tuesday, October 16, 2007. According to the authors, while previous studies have shown that progression-free survival is longer when estramustine is added to chemotherapy, no individual trial has been powerful enough to detect a statistically significant improvement in overall survival. Therefore, by use of individual patient data from 605 patients with castration-refractory prostate cancer in five randomised trials, Dr. Fizazi (Institut Gustave Roussy, France) and colleagues did a metaanalysis to increase the power of the analysis and assessed whether overall survival was improved by the addition of estramustine to chemotherapy. The authors noted that overall survival was significantly better in patients assigned chemotherapy plus estramustine -- the estimated absolute increase in 1-year overall survival was 9·5%. Furthermore, these patients had a better prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response and a longer time to PSA progression than those patients who did not receive estramustine. However, the authors caution that the overall benefit of adding estramustine to chemotherapy should be weighed against the known toxicities associated with the drug -- in particular, nausea or vomiting and thromboembolic complications. Indeed, they noted an increased number of grade 3 or 4 thromboembolic events in patients who were assigned estramustine plus chemotherapy versus those who were not assigned estramustine (4% vs 0·4%). The authors conclude: "Since treatment with chemotherapy plus estramustine showed increased antitumour activity, this combination as first-line treatment of patients with castration-refractory prostate cancer would seem logical and reasonable, at least in those patients with no major thromboembolic risks and with or without thromboprophylaxis". SOURCE: The Lancet Oncology E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version