The evolving landscape of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer: a critical review of the evidence for adding docetaxel or abiraterone to androgen deprivation

Background: Until 2015, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) alone was the standard-of-care for metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC). In 2015, the CHAARTED and STAMPEDE-Docetaxel studies demonstrated marked survival benefit with the addition of docetaxel to ADT in the mHSPC setting, leading to a change in the standard-of-care for mHSPC. The recent LATITUDE and STAMPEDE-Abiraterone trials showed similar substantial improvement in survival with the addition of abiraterone plus prednisone to ADT in this space. Methods: We conducted a review of the randomized phase III studies that have investigated either the addition of docetaxel or abiraterone to ADT in patients with mHSPC. Results: We describe the study designs, key eligibility criteria, and key results for the CHAARTED, STAMPEDE-Docetaxel, GETUG-AFU 15, LATITUDE, and STAMPEDE-Abiraterone clinical trials. We compare the data for abiraterone/prednisone plus ADT in mHSPC with the evidence for docetaxel plus ADT in these patients. Finally, we discuss several factors that should be considered when choosing between docetaxel/ADT or abiraterone/prednisone/ADT in mHSPC. Conclusions: The management of mHSPC is evolving. Abiraterone plus prednisone in addition to ADT has emerged as an alternative standard-of-care to docetaxel plus ADT, and ongoing trials should clarify whether combination vs. sequential approaches with AR-targeting agents and taxane chemotherapy are preferred for initial management in the hormone-sensitive setting.