TREATMENT OF HORMONE-REFRACTORY CARCINOMA OF THE PROSTATE WITH MITOXANTRONE

So far, no curative treatment is available for hormone-refractory pros tate carcinoma. Therapy is thus focused on alleviating symptomatic tum or progression with the aim of improving quality of life. Therefore, a nthracyclin-derived mitoxantrone was administered to 25 patients with hormone-refractory prostate carcinoma and symptomatic progressive dise ase. After a median treatment of 13 weeks, a median of 4 cycles and a follow-up of 14 months, 48% of the patients (12/25) reported improveme nt in tumor-related pain; in 60% (15/25) there was improvement of the self-assessment symptom score and 32% of the patients (8/25) gained we ight. Additionally, partial tumor response with regression of lymph-no de metastases occurred in 3/25 patients (12%). In 10/25 patients the s erum level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) decreased as well as the alkaline phosphatase (AP) in 7/25 patients. Side effects subsequent t o chemotherapy were leucopenia WHO grade III in 25% of the patients an d thrombocytopenia WHO grade III in 3/25 and grade V (treatment-relate d death) in 1/25 patients. Non-hematological toxicity occurred in 2 pa tients (cardiotoxicity n=1, nephrotoxicity n=1, WHO grade II each).