Evaluation of oral chemotherapy with capecitabine and cyclophosphamide plus thalidomide and prednisone in prostate cancer patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical outcomes of second-line chemotherapy with capecitabine and cyclophosphamide (CTX) plus thalidomide and prednisone in refractory advanced castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients.

We retrospectively reviewed patients with advanced CRPC who had previously progressed to first-line docetaxel-based chemotherapy. Patients were given second-line chemotherapy with capecitabine and CTX plus thalidomide and prednisone throughout the course. Patients were evaluated for response and toxicity, and treatment was continued until the disease progression or excessive toxicity was noted.

From April 2007 to February 2010, a total of 28 patients (median age, 72.8 ± 2.9 years) received second-line chemotherapy. The median cycle and duration of metronomic chemotherapy were six (range: 1–12) cycles and 6.3 (range 1.5–20.5) months, respectively. Prostatic-specific antigen was decreased by more than 50% in 10 (35.7%) of the 28 patients. All patients had bone metastases, and 8 patients (28.6%) had measurable soft tissue lesions. Among the 8 patients, 1 patient achieved partial response, and 3 patients had stabilized disease. With a median follow-up time of 29.5 (95% CI, 26.4–33.4) months, median composite progression-free survival and overall survival were 4.7 (95% CI, 3.4–5.7) months and 19.5 (95% CI, 18.9–25.5) months, respectively. No grade 3–4 toxicity was observed, and none of the patients experienced grade 3–4 hematological and nonhematological toxicities.

These data suggested that oral combination second-line chemotherapy with capecitabine and CTX plus thalidomide and prednisone offers promising activity with an excellent safety profile for patients with advanced CRPC.