New Therapeutic Strategies for Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Docetaxel has until recently been the only agent with a small survival benefit for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). To improve clinical outcome in CRPC, numerous classes of drugs targeting specific pathways involved in hormone action, bone metabolism, angiogenesis, apoptosis and immune response have currently been investigated concerning the efficacies of either single agents or combinations with docetaxel. Noteworthy, current two phase III trials of cabazitaxel and sipuleucel-T have demonstrated significant improvements of overall survival in CRPC. From the viewpoint of complexity of mechanisms implicated in prostate cancer progression, effective therapeutic strategies should be developed by multifaceted approaches, such as the composition of novel agents targeting for key molecules, cytotoxic chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. The recent patented molecules (e.g., hyaluronidase, caveolin, Bag1-L, N-cadherin, AR splicing variants, PCGEM-1) have a strong potential as therapeutic options for CRPC. Here, we review the newest evidence of novel agents and patented compounds and methods for the purpose of the future use in CRPC.