Dr. Hashmi on Prostate Cancer Abstracts From the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting

Mehmood Hashmi, MD, assistant professor of medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, discusses the exciting abstracts in prostate cancer that were presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting.

The SPARTAN trial was a practice-changing, 2-arm trial that examined the standard androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and apalutamide (Erleada) versus placebo with ADT, says Hashmi. Investigators looked at metastasis-free survival, in which there was a difference of about 24 months between arms.

In addition to the data surrounding newer therapeutic agents, data regarding new imaging modalities were presented. Included, were prostate-specific membrane antigen scans, which Hashmi states are very promising, as they will help identify the disease earlier.

The role of immunotherapy in prostate cancer was also examined. Although negative trials were reported, they nonetheless paved the way for future combination treatments, says Hashmi. Although PD-L1 inhibitors have shown benefit in many other cancers, physicians are still questioning how immunotherapy can be applied in prostate cancer.

Additionally, a phase II study combined abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) with olaparib (Lynparza) in heavily pretreated patients. Composite results of the trial have led to a phase III trial, says Hashmi.