Dr. Saad on Unanswered Questions From the SPARTAN Trial in M0CRPC

Fred Saad, MD, FRCS, professor and chief of Urology, director of Genitourinary Oncology, Raymond Garneau Chair in Prostate Cancer, University of Montreal Hospital Center, and director, Prostate Cancer Research, Montreal Cancer Institute, discusses unanswered questions from the randomized phase 3 SPARTAN trial in nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (M0CRPC).

The vast majority of patients with M0CRPC will respond well to apalutamide (Erleada), explains Saad. However, optimizing treatment for patients who do not have a robust response to apalutamide remains an unmet need. 

Identifying early signals that indicate a need for treatment intensification with apalutamide may provide insight on treating this more aggressive disease subtype, says Saad. Moreover, given the overall survival benefit that was reported with apalutamide in metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer, a case may be building for combination regimens with apalutamide in M0CRPC, Saad concludes.