Dr. Dreicer on Resistance to Antiandrogen Therapy in Prostate Cancer

Robert Dreicer, MD, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Virginia Health System, discusses resistance to antiandrogen therapy in prostate cancer.

Therapies such as abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) and enzalutamide (Xtandi) can be used in sequence and provide significant activity, says Dreicer. However, there are patients who are intrinsically unresponsive to these drugs upfront.

When a drug is administered, there is a decline in the response rate to the sequential use of that drug, according to Dreicer. The AR-V7 blood test may help both patients and doctors to make decisions on treatment choices when patients become resistant to certain therapies.

Dreicer says that the field is beginning to understand some of the complexities of resistance in prostate cancer, but there is still much work to be done.