Dr. Rathkopf on Mitigating AR-Resistance in Prostate Cancer

Dana E. Rathkopf, MD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses mitigating androgen receptor (AR)-resistance in patients with prostate cancer.

AR is a very important target for prostate cancer, Rathkopf explains. Additonally, AR-targeted agents have only been available for patients with prostate cancer for about 5 years. Researchers in the field are now trying to catch up and determine which patients are best candidates to receive AR-targeted therapy, as well as working to identify what the mechanisms of resistance are and if combinations with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or DNA mismatch-repair agents will improve outcomes.

There are phase III studies ongoing in this space that have completed accrual. One is an ALLIANCE study exploring the AR-targeted agent enzalutamide (Xtandi) versus enzalutamide plus abiraterone acetate (Zytiga; NCT01949337). There is also another phase III that is comparing abiraterone with or without apalutamide, which is a second-generation AR-directed agent. Both studies are highly anticipated in the field, Rathkopf concludes.