Apalutamide in addition to standard care for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) leads to better radiographic progression-free survival, a trial shows.

Final results from the international phase III trial also suggest that double antiandrogen therapy is tolerated as well as abiraterone acetate plus prednisone alone, the researchers say.

The novel combination therapy did not, however, improve overall survival of participants, although a post-hoc analysis showed  significantly better survival among older patients.

In the placebo-controlled ACIS study (Apalutamide plus abiraterone acetate and prednisone versus placebo plus abiraterone and prednisone in metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer) the Canadian-led team investigated the potential clinical benefits of adding a second antiandrogen to standard care for patients with mCRPC.