Treatment Decisions for Advanced Genitourinary Cancers: From Symptoms to Risk Assessment

ContextCurrent and emerging treatment options for advanced prostate, renal, and bladder cancer were discussed at the annual Interactive Genitourinary Cancer Conference (IGUCC) held in February 2009 in connection with the 2nd World Congress on Controversies in Urology (CURy).ObjectiveTo provide practical clinical guidance for physicians and to promote the implementation of recent advances in the management of genitourinary cancers through closer collaboration among urologists, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists.Evidence acquisitionThis article was developed from presentations given at IGUCC 2009.Evidence synthesisDocetaxel treatment is established as the standard first-line treatment for patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), based on improvements in overall survival regardless of age, performance status, and pain. Treatment should be introduced according to risk-factor assessment, clinical status, and patient values and preferences. Similarly, management of senior adults with mCRPC should be individually adapted to the patient's health status rather than chronologic age, especially since the benefits and toxicity associated with docetaxel treatment are similar in senior adults and younger patients. Asymptomatic patients with adverse prognostic factors for survival such as visceral metastases, anaemia, and new bone lesions may be candidates for chemotherapy. Prognostic nomograms based on pretreatment parameters aid in identifying patients for earlier chemotherapy. Second-line treatments for CRPC patients are needed, but currently no agent has demonstrated efficacy in phase 3 clinical trials. For patients with a prior response to docetaxel, retreatment at relapse can be effective and well tolerated.There is a strong rationale for targeting angiogenesis in renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and new targeted therapies have changed treatment paradigms for RCC. In contrast, little progress has been made in the treatment of advanced bladder cancer since the introduction of cisplatin-based chemotherapy; new strategies are needed.ConclusionsDocetaxel (every 3 wk) treatment is a therapeutic option in elderly and asymptomatic mCRPC patients. Docetaxel retreatment is effective in initial responders.