Highlighting recent progress in the treatment of men with advanced prostate cancer.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review is designed to highlight recent research efforts to optimize treatment strategies in men with advanced prostate cancer.

RECENT FINDINGS: Recent research analyses have suggested an overall survival advantage to treating some men with newly identified metastatic prostate cancer with a "triplet" of androgen deprivation therapy, docetaxel, and an androgen receptor axis-targeted agent (ARAT), but further work remains to refine which men need this aggressive of a treatment approach. Randomized trials have led to the approval of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor/ARAT agent combinations for some men with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer, but the applicability of this approach to the growing number of men receiving combinations of systemic therapy in the castration-sensitive setting is unclear. Trials to refine use of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-directed radiopharmaceuticals are ongoing, while novel treatment approaches targeting mechanisms driving advanced prostate cancer continue to be explored.

SUMMARY: Ongoing research focuses on refining the best combination and sequence of treatments for men with advanced prostate cancer. Future questions remain about use of existing therapies, and novel treatment approaches need to be developed.