The Rationale of the TAX 3503 Trial in Prostate Cancer

Clinical Pearls

Michael J. Morris, MD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, explains the rationale behind TAX 3503 (hormonal therapy +/- docetaxel for patients at high risk of metastatic prostate cancer).

• ECOG 3805 looked at chemohormonal therapy versus hormonal therapy for patients with hormone-sensitive, newly metastatic prostate cancer.
• TAX 3503 takes the question asked in early metastatic disease and moves it back one more step: to the pre-metastatic, high-risk population.
• TAX 3503 analyzed patients at high risk of having metastatic disease. Patients were randomized to 18 months of hormonal therapy alone or in combination with docetaxel.