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Advanced Prostate Cancer:
Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of powerful toxic drugs to attack cancer cells.

Chemotherapy drugs are generally reserved for patients with advanced cases of cancer that have become resistant to hormone therapy.

Chemotherapy drugs are used to shrink or slow the growth of tumors, and to find and kill cancer cells that have spread to other parts of the body. Other drugs are used to manage symptoms of advanced prostate cancer and alleviate pain.

It was previously thought chemotherapy would not work for prostate cancer. Many early chemotherapy drugs identify cancer cells through their fast rate of growth, and prostate cancer cells grow slowly in comparison to most cancers. Development of chemotherapy drugs for prostate cancer is lagging behind other forms of cancer. New research is also looking at drugs and treatments for earlier intervention.

The new standard treatment is Taxotere (docetaxel), a drug derived from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree. Taxotere is the only chemotherapy approved for treatment of advanced prostate cancer.

Some drugs have synergistic qualities, that is, they work better when used together. Some drugs, called chemo-sensitizers, help to make cancer cells more sensitive to chemotherapy drugs.

Some chemotherapy involves harsh side effects and requires careful dosage, as the drugs kill healthy cells too. Side effects can include nausea, loss of appetite, hair loss, tiredness, infection and more, but most side effects will disappear when the treatment is stopped.

Participating in a clinical trial is a way to gain access to promising drugs yet to be approved by the FDA. Hundreds of research projects are currently investigating the potential of new drugs and new combinations of drugs.

Some of these trials are investigating targeted therapies, or drugs capable of finding and killing only cancer cells, while leaving other cells unharmed.