Oral chemotherapy in the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

Oral chemotherapy has become a major component of the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. The recognition that prostate cancer grows very slowly and must be treated continuously with active agents has led to the development of several therapeutic regimens. These regimens employ oral agents such as estramustine, cyclophosphamide, and etoposide, as they can be taken on a daily basis at home by the patients. These regimens have demonstrated activity in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer; declines in both prostate specific antigen and soft tissue lesions have been demonstrated.