Prostate-specific antigen and health-related quality of life in individuals with advanced prostate cancer treated with apalutamide: a plain language summary of the SPARTAN and TITAN studies.

What is this summary about?: This is a summary of a paper that describes the results of the SPARTAN and TITAN studies, which looked at whether a treatment called apalutamide can help treat individuals with advanced prostate cancer.The SPARTAN study included 1207 participants with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (or nmCRPC). The TITAN study included 1052 participants with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (or mCSPC). Treatment with apalutamide was compared with treatment with placebo. In both studies, all participants were also given androgen deprivation therapy (or ADT), which has been used for many years for the treatment of prostate cancer.The results showed that treatment with apalutamide plus ADT increased participants' survival time while their health-related quality of life stayed the same, compared with placebo plus ADT. Also, apalutamide plus ADT increased the length of time that the cancer did not spread to other parts of the body (metastasize) or did not continue to grow. In both studies, treatment with apalutamide plus ADT was associated with a deep decline in blood prostate-specific antigen (or PSA) levels (called a deep PSA decline). This additional analysis of the SPARTAN and TITAN studies was performed to understand whether the deep PSA decline in participants who received apalutamide plus ADT was linked to their overall health-related quality of life.

What were the results of the additional analysis?: In participants who received apalutamide plus ADT, those who achieved a deep PSA decline after the start of treatment had a greater chance that their health-related quality of life would remain stable. When participants achieved a deep PSA decline at 3 months after the start of treatment, the benefit to their health-related quality of life, including physical wellbeing, was even greater.

What do these results mean for individuals with advanced prostate cancer?: For individuals with advanced prostate cancer, it is important to monitor both PSA decline and any impacts on health-related quality of life. These results will help doctors and other healthcare professionals have a better understanding of patients' cancer experience and the impact of their treatment.Clinical Trial Registration: NCT01946204 (SPARTAN) and, NCT02489318 (TITAN) (ClinicalTrials.gov).