Novel therapeutic strategies in development for prostate cancer

Relatively few therapy options exist for patients with prostate cancer that has become resistant to androgen-deprivation therapy and has metastasized to distant sites. Survival for such patients is poor with a median survival of ∼ 20 months from the time of initiation of standard docetaxel-based chemotherapy. Promising new treatments are needed and several are currently being evaluated, including those that target the hormonal-axis, such as abiraterone, chemotherapies, such as satraplatin and ixabepilone, combinations of chemotherapy with other agents, such as bevacizumab and calcitriol, as well as a variety of immunotherapeutic approaches. This review will highlight recent and current studies for many of the promising developments for advanced disease, as well as novel early stage approaches.