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Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been the standard of care for metastatic prostate cancer for decades; however, the choice of continuous or intermittent administration is a matter of debate. Two large phase III trials have reported results comparing these 2 forms of ADT administration. The National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) PR-7 trial studied men with an increasing prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level and no evidence of metastatic disease after definitive or salvage radiation therapy and radical prostatectomy. The Southwest Oncology Group 9346 trial studied men with newly diagnosed hormone-sensitive metastatic disease. The primary end point in both trials was overall survival with a noninferiority design. The NCIC trial showed that the overall survival in men treated with intermittent ADT was not inferior to that of men treated with continuous ADT, but the SWOG trial was inconclusive regarding noninferiority. Certain domains of quality of life were better in the intermittent arms of both trials. If using ADT in the setting of biochemical relapse, intermittent ADT should be strongly considered over continuous ADT, except perhaps in patients with Gleason score of 8 or higher. In men with metastatic disease, continuous ADT remains the standard of care, because the SWOG trial did not establish noninferiority of intermittent ADT with respect to survival. However, for those with significant side effects from ADT, establishing the risk group, as determined by PSA value after 7 months of ADT or the presence of pain at diagnosis, may help guide the choice of intermittent versus continuous ADT in men with metastatic disease.

During the past 4 years, a host of new agents have been approved for the treatment of patients with advanced prostate cancer. As a result, selecting the right agent for the right patient at the right time is a clinical challenge. At the NCCN 19th Annual Conference, Dr. Celestia Higano explored the rationale behind such therapeutic decisions and the supporting clinical trial data. She reviewed the different classes of therapeutic agents, from immunotherapy and hormonal therapies to chemotherapy and radioisotopes, and offered suggestions for the clinical scenarios in which they may be used most successfully.

It is increasingly important for clinicians involved in the management of prostate cancer to understand the relevance of heritable (germline) mutations that, for select patients, affect prostate cancer risk and cancer biology, and acquired (somatic) mutations that occur in prostate cancer cells. In the advanced disease setting, mutations in homologous recombination repair genes (eg, BRCA1, BRCA2, ATM, CHEK2, PALB2) suggest candidacy for platinum chemotherapy and PARP inhibitor trials. Similarly, microsatellite instability and mismatch repair deficiency, which may arise in the setting of MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2 mutations, suggest potential vulnerability to PD-1 inhibitors. Germline genetic testing has potential importance in the treatment and assessment of familial risk, and tumor-directed somatic sequencing may guide treatment decision-making. This review provides clinicians with knowledge of basic genetic terminology, awareness of the importance of family history of cancer (not limited to prostate cancer), contrasts between the different but potentially related objectives of germline versus somatic testing of tumor tissue, and indications for genetic counseling. Specific clinical scenarios, objectives of testing, and nature of the assays are reviewed. Germline and somatic mutations of known and potential relevance to prostate cancer are discussed in the context of treatment options, and algorithms to assist clinicians in approaching this area are proposed.

The NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer include recommendations regarding diagnosis, risk stratification and workup, treatment options for localized disease, and management of recurrent and advanced disease for clinicians who treat patients with prostate cancer. The portions of the guidelines included herein focus on the roles of germline and somatic genetic testing, risk stratification with nomograms and tumor multigene molecular testing, androgen deprivation therapy, secondary hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy in patients with prostate cancer.

The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Prostate Cancer provide multidisciplinary recommendations for the clinical management of patients with prostate cancer. These NCCN Guidelines Insights highlight notable recent updates. Abiraterone acetate is a first-in-class hormonal agent that represents a new standard of care for patients with metastatic castration-recurrent prostate cancer who have previously received docetaxel (category 1 recommendation). Abiraterone acetate also received category 2B recommendations in the prechemotherapy setting for asymptomatic patients or symptomatic patients who are not candidates for docetaxel. The NCCN Prostate Cancer Panel also added new indications for existing agents, including the option of sipuleucel-T as second-line therapy. In addition, brachytherapy in combination with external beam radiation therapy with or without androgen deprivation therapy is now an alternative for patients with high-risk localized tumors or locally advanced disease.

The NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer provide multidisciplinary recommendations on the clinical management of patients with prostate cancer. This report highlights notable recent updates. Radium-223 dichloride is a first-in-class radiopharmaceutical that recently received approval for the treatment of patients with symptomatic bone metastases and no known visceral disease. It received a category 1 recommendation as both a first-line and second-line option. The NCCN Prostate Cancer Panel also revised recommendations on the choice of intermittent or continuous androgen deprivation therapy based on recent phase III clinical data comparing the 2 strategies in the nonmetastatic and metastatic settings.

Prostate cancer has surpassed lung cancer as the most common cancer in men in the United States. The NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer provide multidisciplinary recommendations on the clinical management of patients with prostate cancer based on clinical evidence and expert consensus. NCCN Panel guidance on treatment decisions for patients with localized disease is represented in this version. Significant updates for early disease include distinction between active surveillance and observation, a new section on principles of imaging, and revisions to radiation recommendations. The full version of these guidelines, including treatment of patients with advanced disease, can be found online at the NCCN website.

The NCCN Guidelines for Prostate Cancer address staging and risk assessment after an initial diagnosis of prostate cancer and management options for localized, regional, and metastatic disease. Recommendations for disease monitoring, treatment of recurrent disease, and systemic therapy for metastatic castration-recurrent prostate cancer also are included. This article summarizes the NCCN Prostate Cancer Panel's most significant discussions for the 2016 update of the guidelines, which include refinement of risk stratification methods and new options for the treatment of men with high-risk and very-high-risk disease and progressive castration-naïve disease.