Medical management of metastatic prostate cancer

Androgen deprivation therapy has an important role in the medical treatment of advanced and metastatic prostate cancer. The treatment of metastatic prostate cancer is influenced by whether the patient’s disease has progressed on androgen deprivation therapy or not. It is considered to be castrate-resistant disease if the cancer has progressed despite adequate suppression of androgens. Chemotherapy using docetaxel or cabazitaxel and anti-androgen drugs such as abiraterone and enzalutamide can be used to treat castrate-resistant disease. Radium-223 is an option for patients with bony metastases. Metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer is now considered a chronic illness as the life expectancy of patients has almost doubled due to the new treatments. General practitioners are therefore more likely to encounter patients with disease-and treatment-related complications.