Loading...
The terms “hormone refractory” and “androgen independent” have been used to characterize patients with metastatic prostate cancer who manifest disease progression after androgen-deprivation therapy. These terms remain widely used despite evidence that some of these patients respond to second-line hormonal therapy agents such as anti-androgens or ketoconazole. An evolving understanding of the androgen receptor, along with the development of a new generation of agents, has enabled advances in disease management.
To assess one potential approach, U.K. investigators conducted a phase I study of abiraterone acetate, a selective, irreversible inhibitor of cytochrome P17 (a microsomal enzyme that regulates 2 steroid reactions critical to androgen a…