Objectives: To assess the effect of triamcinolone administration on the serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response and the time to progression in patients with androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC).
Methods: Patients with AIPC were prospectively treated with oral triamcinolone 4 mg twice daily, and their serum PSA and cortisol levels were measured monthly. Patients with greater than 25% increases in serum PSA from baseline were considered to have progressive disease and were removed from the study. Those patients who had a decrease in serum PSA levels or stable disease continued in the study until disease progression. Bone scans were obtained every 12 weeks and at progression.
Results: Twenty-four patients with AIPC were treated from November 2002 to June 2004. A partial response with a more than 50% decrease in serum PSA level was seen in 29%. Another 21% achieved stable disease. No statistically significant difference was found in the time to progression in the partial responders and patients with stable disease. The median time to progression in both groups was 7.5 months. Treatment was well tolerated without any grade 3 or 4 toxicity.
Conclusions: Oral triamcinolone was well tolerated by patients with AIPC, with 50% of the patients exhibiting a good response to therapy in terms of serum PSA level and time to progression.