Dr. Agarwal on the Advantages of Docetaxel in Prostate Cancer

Neeraj Agarwal, MD, associate professor, Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Huntsman Cancer Institute, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of choosing docetaxel as a therapy for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

One of the advantages of docetaxel chemotherapy is the dosaging schedule, says Agarwal. It is a short schedule lasting about 4 and a half months, consisting of 6 cycles of docetaxel every 6 weeks. The other option is abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) with prednisone, which needs to be continued indefinitely for as long as the patient is benefitting.

As for the side effect profile, as docetaxel is a chemotherapy there is neuropathy and myelosuppression, but patients often need to come to the hospital for infusions, which is inconvenient compared to an oral therapy.