Novel Therapies in Advanced Prostate Cancer

Over the last 10 years definite advances have been made in the treatment of advanced hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). Present chemotherapeutics for HRPC can provide palliation, and as demonstrated by two large recent randomized trials using docetaxel-based therapy, a modest improvement in overall survival. A number of novel therapeutics are becoming standard of care or are under development including novel chemotherapeutics, bisphosphonates, immunotherapeutics, nucleotide-based targeted therapy, endothelin receptor antagonists, and angiogenesis inhibitors. Development of these novel therapeutics will be essential to provide clinicians multiple avenues through which prostate cancer can be effectively treated.