According to a news release from MD Anderson they have recently completed a study that shows that combining two separate chemotherapy agents is more effective than sequencing them one after another.

The current standard of care for the cytotoxic chemotherapy agents used to treat prostate cancer is to treat men with advanced metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) by the sequential use of single agent taxanes such as docetaxel and cabazitaxel. Usually, docetaxel is used as the “first-line” therapy while cabazitaxel is used as the “second-line” therapy. The use of these therapies as a combination therapy at the same time has not been well studied.

The results of a clinical trial were presented in Chicago at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting by researchers From MD Anderson. According to commentary from MD Anderson this trial may change the perspective on a role for combination chemotherapy in advanced disease.

The study compared the effectiveness of cabazitaxel alone versus cabazitaxel combined with carboplatin, a type of platinum chemotherapy in men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). As of the ASCO presentation 160 men have been randomized receiving either the single or dual chemotherapy