Dr. Sweeney on the Future of Prostate Cancer Research

Christopher Sweeney, MBBS, medical oncologist, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the future of prostate cancer research.

There have been several drugs approved to treat patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer: abiraterone, enzalutamide, sipuleucel-T, radium-223, and cabazitaxel. The challenge remains to determine proper combinations and sequencing. Sweeney says the oncology community needs to commit to clinical trials to answer these persisting questions.

Sweeney says he is leading a trial looking at hormonal therapy with or without enzalutamide, allowing for upfront docetaxel, in patients with hormone-sensitive disease. Sweeney believes the way forward is to combine drugs in the castration-resistant setting and use combinations earlier in the hormone-sensitive setting.