Clinical Management of Advanced Prostate Cancer: Where Does Radiopharmaceutical Therapy Fit in the Treatment Algorithm?

Abstract

Most men with newly appreciated metastatic prostate cancer are optimally treated with a backbone consisting of androgen receptor–directed therapy with or without taxane chemotherapy. Despite improvements in disease outcomes, prostate cancer remains an extremely heterogeneous disease with variable mechanisms of therapeutic resistance. As a result, it remains a leading cause of cancer-related death in men. Radiopharmaceutical therapy has emerged as an alternative, non–androgen receptor–directed treatment modality for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer that impacts patient survival and represents a potentially more personalized approach. In this review, we aim to outline the current treatment landscape for metastatic prostate cancer with a focus on radiopharmaceutical therapy, specifically ¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA-617. In addition, we illustrate various clinical challenges with ¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA-617 treatment to date and explore investigative efforts to leverage radiopharmaceutical therapies as part of combination regimens or earlier in the treatment algorithm to further improve patient outcomes. Finally, we introduce ongoing studies of alternative radiopharmaceutical therapies in metastatic prostate cancer that may be incorporated into the treatment algorithm pending further study.