Neeraj Agarwal, MD, presented “Real World Utilization of Guideline Based Therapy in mCSPC: Update From the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting” during the 31st International Prostate Cancer Update in July 2021 in Snowbird, Utah.
How to cite: Agarwal, Neeraj. “Real World Utilization of Guideline Based Therapy in mCSPC: Update From the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting.” July 2021. Accessed Jul 2024. https://grandroundsinurology.com/real-world-utilization-of-guideline-based-therapy-in-mcspc-update-from-the-2021-asco-annual-meeting/
Real World Utilization of Guideline Based Therapy in mCSPC: Update From the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting
Neeraj Agarwal, MD, Professor of Medicine and Presidential Endowed Chair of Cancer Research at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, examines the underutilization of effective intensified androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC). He begins by emphasizing the unprecedented efficacy of intensified ADT in improving survival for patients with mCSPC. Dr. Agarwal then asserts that, despite those findings, less than a third of patients are being offered intensified ADT therapies as first-line (1L) treatment for mCSPC, even four to five years after data has become available. Dr. Agarwal supports this argument by citing three studies from the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting: real-world utilization of advanced therapies and racial disparity among patients with mCSPC, a Medicare database analysis of over 35,000 patients (2009-2018); real-world 1L treatment patterns in patients with mCSPC in a U.S. health insurance database (2014-2019); and real-world treatment patterns among patients diagnosed with mCSPC in community oncology settings (2014-2019). Dr. Agarwal summarized the most salient finding: less than one-third of men received intensified treatment (ADT combined with docetaxel or with a novel hormonal therapy) as their first-line treatment for mCSPC. Additionally, most men received ADT alone or ADT combined with a nonsteroidal antiandrogen as their 1L treatment, even as recently as 2019, with Black and Hispanic men even less likely than White men to receive an intensified treatment. Further, most men whose cancer had spread to soft organs (e.g., liver, lungs) had received ADT alone. Dr. Agarwal concludes by reemphasizing that the vast majority of patients are not receiving intensification therapy which is backed by level-one evidence. Dr. Agarwal points to the importance of education, awareness, and access as critical to developing better science around implementation and leading to more patients being able to receive these transformative treatments.
About The 31st Annual International Prostate Cancer Update:
The International Prostate Cancer Update (IPCU), founded in 1990, is a multi-day CME conference focused on prostate cancer treatment updates with expert, international faculty. It is led by expert physicians and is designed for urologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and other healthcare professionals involved in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. Dr. Agarwal delivered this educational activity during the 31st iteration of the meeting in July 2021 in Snowbird, Utah.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Agarwal, MD, is Professor of Medicine and Presidential Endowed Chair of Cancer Research at the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He also directs the Genitourinary Oncology Program, and the Center of Investigational Therapeutics at HCI.
Dr. Agarwal is internationally recognized in the field of genitourinary cancers. He is the study chair of multiple Phase I/II and Phase III trials, and serves as a steering committee member of numerous other trials. He has received the SWOG Young Investigator Award, the William D. Odell Young Investigator Award, and a National Cancer Institute Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award. After completing his medical training at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, he completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in geriatric medicine at the University of Iowa, followed by a hematology-oncology fellowship at HCI.
Dr. Agarwal has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He holds numerous scientific communications leadership roles, including chief editor of the ASCO Daily News, specialty editor for ASCO’s cancer.net site, and editorial board member of several journals, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology. He also serves as a member of the ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Advisory Panel. Dr. Agarwal was recently appointed as the Senior Director for Clinical Research Innovation at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
