Weekly docetaxel and estramustine in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

The combination of docetaxel and estramustine has exhibited synergistic activity both in prostate cancer cell lines and in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). Based on these promising preclinical and phase I/II data, we conducted a study of weekly docetaxel and estramustine in patients with metastatic HRPC and a poor performance status. A total of 30 patients received (1) a 3-day course of oral estramustine during weeks 1 and 2 of each 3-week cycle plus (2) docetaxel, 35 mg/m(2) intravenously on day 2 of weeks 1 and 2. The median number of cycles per patient was 5, ranging from 1 to 22. The median patient age was 74 years (range, 61 to 90 years), and the median baseline Karnofsky performance status was 60% (range, 50% to 80%). Twenty-three patients (76%) had a > or =50% decrease in serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA); 17 (56%) of these patients had a > or =75% decrease in PSA. Pain scores and performance status likewise improved in 70% of patients. Three complete responses and four partial responses were observed among 12 patients with measurable disease. Toxicities were primarily nonhematologic in nature, with the most common being grade 1 through 3 nausea, asthenia, diarrhea, and edema. Given the activity and tolerability of weekly docetaxel and estramustine in this study, this regimen appears to be more suitable than previously studied docetaxel/estramustine administration schedules for treating metastatic HRPC in elderly patients with a poor performance status. Copyright 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company.