Promising Prostate Cancer Treatment Options
Testing biomarker-based treatments for prostate cancer
March 10, 2026
3 minute read
Testing biomarker-based treatments for prostate cancer
Survival rates are good for prostate cancer that is detected in early stages when it has not spread outside the prostate gland. Nearly 100% of men are alive five years after diagnosis. However, for some patients, prostate cancer can spread to other areas of the body (metastasize), changing the outlook.
“Historically, hormone suppressant treatments for metastatic prostate cancer will eventually stop working and the cancer will progress,” said Kathryn Bylow, MD, medical oncologist and MCW faculty member. “Men in this situation are not curable. The goal is to slow or stop the cancer’s progression and maintain quality of life.”
Dr. Bylow is the local principal investigator of a national phase II clinical trial offered through the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Network. Researchers are studying biomarker-based treatments to target metastatic prostate cancer more precisely.
“There have been significant advances in our ability to genomically sequence cancer types and understand the molecular differences of tumors,” Dr. Bylow said. “Genomic sequencing tests DNA to tell us how cells grow and function to help guide treatment. Now, we have biomarker-driven treatments for prostate cancer.”
However, cancer specialists have had limited drug choices other than a class of drugs called PARP inhibitors, which stop cancer cells from repairing DNA defects and reproducing.
“This study builds on what we know of prostate cancer and molecular changes to find precision treatments beyond PARP inhibitors,” Dr. Bylow said.
In the trial, participants will have genomic sequencing of their tumors using tissue- or blood-based testing. The molecular tumor board will then review results to determine if study-defined changes are present. They will assign eligible participants to one of three study arms, or groups.
Patients in Arm A will receive a 28-day cycle of valemetostat, an inhibitor that can lower the rate at which cancer cells multiply. Patients in Arm B will receive a 21-day cycle of two chemotherapy drugs, cabazitaxel and carboplatin. These drugs are standard for treating prostate cancer, but researchers hope to learn if a patient’s molecular changes make these drugs a better choice for some than for others.
Patients in the third arm, whose tumors do not have study-defined changes, will receive three standard chemotherapy drugs. They have the option of repeating genomic sequencing later to determine if there is a change that would qualify them for one of the first two arms.
“The goal of this study is to precisely select patients with metastatic prostate cancer who may benefit from this treatment — to either shrink the cancer or slow its progress,” Dr. Bylow said. “Patients will be selected based on cellular protein or genomic data. Clinical research is helping advance this personalized approach to cancer care.”
The Froedtert & MCW Cancer Network offers the largest cancer clinical trials treatment program in eastern Wisconsin.
“Clinical trials give patients options to which they might not otherwise have access,” Dr. Bylow said. “They may benefit from having one more tool to achieve their best possible outcome.”
