A patient-level data meta-analysis of standard-of-care treatments from eight prostate cancer clinical trials

Sci Data. 2016 May 10:3:160027. doi: 10.1038/sdata.2016.27.

Abstract

Open clinical trial data offer many opportunities for the scientific community to independently verify published results, evaluate new hypotheses and conduct meta-analyses. These data provide valuable opportunities for scientific advances in medical research. Herein we present the comparative meta-analysis of different standard of care treatments from newly available comparator arm data from several prostate cancer clinical trials. Comparison of survival rates following treatment with mitoxantrone or docetaxel in combination with prednisone as well as prednisone alone, validated the previously demonstrated superiority of treatment with docetaxel. Additionally, comparison of four testosterone suppression treatments in hormone-refractory prostate cancer revealed that subjects who had undergone surgical castration had significantly lower survival rates than those treated with LHRH, anti-androgen or LHRH plus anti-androgen, suggesting that this treatment option is less optimal. This study illustrates how the use of patient-level clinical trial data enables meta-analyses that can provide new insights into clinical outcomes of standard of care treatments and thus, once validated, has the potential to help optimize healthcare delivery.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Androgen Antagonists* / pharmacology
  • Androgen Antagonists* / therapeutic use
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal* / pharmacology
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal* / therapeutic use
  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Combined Modality Therapy / standards
  • Docetaxel
  • Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / pharmacology
  • Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / therapeutic use
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mitoxantrone / pharmacology
  • Mitoxantrone / therapeutic use
  • Prednisone / pharmacology
  • Prednisone / therapeutic use
  • Prostatic Neoplasms* / drug therapy
  • Prostatic Neoplasms* / mortality
  • Prostatic Neoplasms* / surgery
  • Survival Rate
  • Taxoids / pharmacology
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Androgen Antagonists
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal
  • Taxoids
  • Docetaxel
  • Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone
  • Mitoxantrone
  • Prednisone