Prostate cancer. Chemotherapy.

Several chemotherapeutic drugs have been shown to be potentially effective in the patient with metastatic hormone refractory prostate cancer. Individual patients who respond to these chemotherapy agents survive longer than nonresponders, but overall objective response rates for the entire group have been disappointingly small, the length of response short, and there has been no overall survival advantage. Combination chemotherapy has not yet been shown to be superior to single-agent chemotherapy in controlled phase III clinical trials. If chemotherapy drugs are administered to such patients, it is desirable to give them as part of protocols designed to gather reliable data on their risks and benefits.