Highlights in advanced prostate cancer
We interviewed Prof. Silke Gillessen Sommer (CH) who shared some of the EAU21 highlights to look forward to with regard to coverage on advanced prostate cancer (PCa). Prof. Gillessen Sommer will co-chair Plenary session 05: Treatment for metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer together with Prof. Alberto Briganti (IT), Prof. Dr. Karim Fizazi (FR), and Prof. Arnauld Villers (FR). The session will take place on Sunday, 11 July 2021 from 11:45 to 13:15 CEST.
“I think every urologist that deals with metastatic PCa will find something of interest at EAU21, particularly the Plenary session. It’s a dynamic field and we’ve seen a lot of new developments in the last five years,” stated Prof. Gillessen Sommer.
She explained, “For instance, there are a lot of new treatment options for metastatic, hormone-sensitive PCa. We don’t yet know which option is best for which patient. We’re learning more and more that this is not one group of patients, but that there are differences between patients with, for example, high- or low-volume disease, or patients who are de novo metastatic or patients who relapse with metastatic disease after they have primary treatment. It seems that biologically these groups are different and have a different prognosis. Delegates can look forward to learning about which patients could benefit from which treatments.
“In the coming months, we’re also expecting new data on the combination of different treatment options. We might have started about 40 years ago with hormonal treatment and androgen deprivation therapy alone. But adding chemotherapy or novel hormonal agents can be beneficial. For instance, the addition of radiotherapy for patients with low-volume disease can give an overall survival benefit. We will also know soon the effects of triple combinations, for instance, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) plus a novel hormonal agent, and also docetaxel. Or combining ADT, radiotherapy, abiraterone, and docetaxel. Triple or quadruple combinations give us a lot of potential therapeutic options.”
She added, “More topics that will be discussed in the Plenary, Thematic, and Abstract sessions will include the potential of personalised medicine, and differentiating between patients who will benefit versus those who won’t. Case presentations are a useful way to illustrate this. We will also look at new, more sensitive imaging options and imaging-guided treatment. Delegates can likely also expect analyses from ongoing trials in the ‘late-breaking’ session.”