Dr. McDermott on Preventing Recurrence of High-Risk Prostate Cancer

Ray McDermott, MB, BCh, BAO, PhD, MBA, FRCPI, a clinical professor of medical oncology at the University College Dublin, discusses preventing recurrence in patients with very high-risk prostate cancer.

Patients with very high-risk prostate cancer tend to have increased prostate-specific antigen after having undergone a radical proctectomy, says McDermott. Investigators should be looking at different treatments and methods in order to prevent recurrence. One way this can be achieved, McDermott recommends, is by identifying centers where the DASL-HiCAP trial is open and see if the patients are eligible to be treated with darolutamide (Nubeqa) plus androgen deprivation therapy and definitive or salvage radiation.

However, for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who harbor BRCA mutations, there is a survival advantage with PARP inhibitors in the pivotal phase 3 PROfound study are exciting and great for patients, explains McDermott. The study included a smaller patient population, but results show that patients need to be tested to determine whether they have targetable mutations. As a result, patients are living longer and can avoid more toxic treatments, such as chemotherapy, concludes McDermott.