Analysis of Clinical Trials on Therapies for Prostate Cancer in Mainland China and Globally from 2010 to 2020

Abstract

The overall aging of the world population has contributed to the continuous upward trend in the incidence of prostate cancer (PC). Trials on PC therapy have been extensively performed, but no study has analyzed the overall trends and characteristics of these trials, especially for those carried out in China. This study aimed to provide insights on the future direction of drug development in PC, thus supplying essential supportive data for stakeholders, including researchers, patients, investors, clinicians, and pharmaceutical industry. The details of the clinical trials of drug therapies for PC during January 1, 2010, to January 1, 2020, were collected from Pharmaprojects. A total of 463 clinical trials on different therapies with 132 different drugs were completed. The long-acting endocrine therapy with few side effects, radiotherapy combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors, gene-targeted chemotherapeutics, and novel immunotherapeutic products changed the concept of PC treatment. In mainland China, 31 trials with 19 drugs have been completed in the 10 assessment years. China has initiated a few trials investigating a limited number of drug targets, centered in a markedly uneven geographical distribution of leading clinical trial units; hence, the development of PC drugs has a long way to go. Given the large patient pool, China deserves widespread attention for PC drug research and development. These findings might have a significant impact on scientific research and industrial investment.

Exosomal CXCL14 Contributes to M2 Macrophage Polarization through NF-κB Signaling in Prostate Cancer

“…According to the data from GLOBOCAN, 1,276,106 new cases of PC were documented worldwide in 2018, with a higher incidence in the Western countries [ 1 ]. In China, 120,000 new cases were reported in 2016, and PC is ranked the ninth malignant tumor in men [ 3 , 4 ]. Even if the 5-year survival rate of PC is more than 99%, patients with metastatic PC only have about 31% of the 5-year survival rate [ 5 ].…”

Rapid systematic review of clinical trials on pharmacological therapies for rare gynecological cancers

“…In line with this finding, in a recent review on clinical trials for drug development in rare diseases, the authors found out that a small number of rare diseases (mostly cancer-related) contributed to the majority of trials and investigated drugs (39), hence, chemotherapeutic drugs were the most abundant in the top 20 tested drugs. In contrast, a study by Chen et al on therapies for prostate cancer in China found that clinical trials were focused mainly on hormonal therapy (41.5%), chemotherapy (31.3%) and immunotherapy (20.7%) (40). This may be explained by the different types of treatment options due to different pathogenesis for these distinct cancers, which is reflected in the different profile of investigated therapies within clinical trials.…”

Evaluation of the clinical application value of cytokine expression profiles in the differential diagnosis of prostate cancer

“…Prostate diseases are prevalent worldwide and are among the most common diseases of the male genitourinary system. PCa is the second most common cancer in men globally, with a mortality rate second only to lung cancer [ 1 , 2 ]. Currently, there are multiple theories and hypotheses regarding the pathogenesis of PCa, but the exact causes are still unclear.…”