Docetaxel, estramustine, and short-term androgen withdrawal for patients with biochemical failure after definitive local therapy for prostate cancer.

Over the past 10 years, men with prostate cancer have received earlier diagnoses and are undergoing prostatectomy and/or radiation therapy with curative intent; however, many men have increasing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels without evidence of local progression or metastatic disease during the first 2 years after definitive local therapy. Optimal treatment of men with PSA-only recurrent prostate cancer has not been established. This ongoing phase II trial is evaluating docetaxel (70 mg/m(2) administered intravenously over 1 hour on day 2 every 21 days for four cycles) and estramustine (10 mg/kg/d orally on days 1 to 5 every 21 days for four cycles) followed by bicalutamide and goserelin acetate in men with increasing PSA levels after prostatectomy and/or radiation therapy. Patients received pretreatment with dexamethasone, and after the third patient enrolled, patients received warfarin for prophylaxis against thrombosis. Colony-stimulating factor support was allowed. In preliminary results, 11 of 15 patients completed protocol chemotherapy; 12 of 15 patients achieved complete response (ie, normalization of PSA) after four cycles of chemotherapy. In addition, testosterone levels were reduced to the castrate range in all patients after chemotherapy. The regimen was generally well tolerated, and toxicities were mostly hematologic, with grade (3/4) neutropenia reported in approximately half of patients. Preliminary results of this phase II trial are encouraging, and enrollment is ongoing. Copyright 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company.