Exploratory analysis on the effect of race on clinical outcome in patients with advanced prostate cancer receiving bicalutamide or flutamide, each in combination with LHRH analogues

BACKGROUND. Black race has been associated with a significantly increased risk of prostate cancer mortality. This exploratory analysis investigated the effect of race on the clinical outcome of combined androgen blockade (CAB). METHODS. Data for analysis were obtained from a double-blind, randomized, multicenter trial comparing CAB in the form of bicalutamide (50 mg once daily) or flutamide (250 mg three times daily) plus luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogs (LHRHa; goserelin acetate 3.6 mg, or leuprolide acetate 7.5 mg) in 813 patients with stage D-2 prostate cancer (median follow-up, 160 weeks). Patients were analyzed according to race (African American [AA], white, or other). The primary clinical events were disease progression and survival. RESULTS. Four hundred and four patients received bicalutamide/LHRHa and 409 received flutamide/LHRHa. Although treatment with bicalutamide/LHRHa resulted in slightly longer time to progression and survival time in white and AA males than treatment with flutamide/LHRHa, the differences between the treatment groups were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS. No marked effect of race on clinical outcome was observed regardless of antiandrogen, suggesting that similar treatment benefits are to be expected in either race. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.