Dr. Sartor on Sequencing Therapies in Prostate Cancer

Oliver Sartor, MD, medical oncologist, Tulane University School of Medicine, discusses sequencing therapies and potential targets in prostate cancer.

Sartor admits oncologists are not entirely sure what the proper sequencing of therapies is, due to a lack of data. However, the identification of biomarkers in prostate cancer is evolving. For oncologists to have a clearer idea of patient selection for specific therapies, they need to first understand the biology of the tumor, he adds.

Studies from Johns Hopkins and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center show specific biomarkers in patients and what agents they may have resistance to, as well as tumor morphology, Sartor explains.

It appears that certain genes, such as BRCA, may be mutated to a greater extent in prostate cancer than originally by researchers, and could potentially be targetable. If this is the case, PARP inhibitors could be oriented toward that subset of patients.