Dr. Choudhury on the Different States of Nonmetastatic CRPC

Atish D. Choudhury, MD, PhD, co-director of the Prostate Cancer Center, senior physician, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, instructor in medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses the different states of nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

Nonmetastatic CRPC represents a diffuse set of ​disease states, says Choudhury. ​Although this cancer is castration resistant, the location of the disease can vary.

For example, in some patients it represents local recurrence while, in others, it represents recurrence with pelvic lymph node involvement​, explains Choudhury.

Furthermore, ​nonmetastatic CRPC could consist of micrometastatic disease that may or may not be detectable on novel imaging​, Choudhury says. Notably, all of these states were included in 3 pivotal phase 3 trials in the space: PROSPER, SPARTAN, and ARAMIS.

Ultimately, in terms of disease management, the agents evaluated in these studies are of critical importance. ​Novel imaging and focal therapy may also play a role as well, Choudhury concludes.