New cocktail aims to knock out tough prostate cancer
NCT ID NCT02772588
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested whether giving three hormone-blocking drugs along with high-dose, precisely targeted radiation could stop very high-risk prostate cancer from coming back. Sixty-four men with aggressive prostate cancer received the treatment. The main goal was to see how many men had a rise in their PSA levels, which would signal the cancer had returned.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- apalutamide, abiraterone, leuprolide, and high-dose precision radiation
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this combination could offer a more effective way to prevent prostate cancer from coming back in very high-risk patients.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, single-arm phase 2 study with no comparison group, so results may not apply broadly. Hormone therapy can cause side effects like hot flashes and fatigue.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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64 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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May 2016
- Finished
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Jan 2026
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Male participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Histological or cytologic evidence of adenocarcinoma of the prostate confirmed at local institution. * At least one of the following: * Two or more high risk features OR * Gleason score 8-10 * PSA ≥20 ng/mL within two months prior to registration * Clinical Stage ≥T3 disease, as determined by standard digital rectal examination (DRE) * Radiographic stage ≥T3 disease as determined by a ≥75% probability of extracapsular extension or seminal vesicle invasion per reading radiologist * Any Gleason 9 or 10 disease OR \>4 cores of Gleason 8 disease * KPS ≥ 70% * IPSS (International Prostate Symptom Score) ≤ 20F * Patient must be available for follow-up * Laboratory test findings within 28 days of study registration : * Adequate hepatic function: * Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times the upper institutional limits of normal (ULN). Patients with a history of Gilbert's syndrome may be enrolled if the total bilirubin is \< 3 mg/dL with a predominance of indirect bilirubin. If the total bilirubin is \>1.5 x the institutional ULN, direct and indirect bilirubin will be measured and if direct bilirubin is ≤ 1.5 x the institutional ULN, the patient will be eligible to participate * SGPT (ALT) and SGOT (AST) ≤ 2.5 x ULN * Adequate renal function with creatinine \<2.0 x the institutional ULN * Adequate hematologic function: * Absolute neutrophil counts ≥ 1500 cell/mm3 * Platelets ≥ 100,000 cells/mm3 (independent of blood transfusion and/or growth factors within 3 months prior to registration) * Hemoglobin value ≥9 g/dL at the Screening Visit (independent of blood transfusion and/or growth factors within 3 months prior to registration) * Albumin ≥ 3.0 g/dL * Potassium ≥ 3.5 mmol/L * Patients with pelvic and/or retroperitoneal lymph nodes \< 1.5 cm in short axis are eligible as they are not considered to have definitive metastases * Willing and able to provide written informed consent and HIPAA authorization for the release of personal health information NOTE: HIPAA authorization may be either included in the informed consent or obtained separately * Males 18 years of age and above * The effects of apalutamide, abiraterone, leuprolide and stereotactic, ultra-hypofractionated radiation on the developing human fetus at the recommended therapeutic dose are unknown. Men (including men with vasectomies) must agree to use adequate contraception (a condom and another effective method of birth control) prior to registration, for the duration of study participation, and for at least 3 months thereafter. Men must also agree not to donate sperm for the duration of study participation, and for at least 3 months thereafter. Exclusion Criteria: * Radiographic evidence of metastatic disease * Patients with one or more positive lymph nodes as determined by radiographic assessment of MRI or CT NOTE: lymph nodes noted on MRI or CT to be \> 1.5 cm on the short axis will require review by the local reference radiologist per institutional RECIST review practices. If the lymph nodes are considered suspicious on repeat review, they must be confirmed negative for study participation * Prior treatment for prostate cancer; this includes any prior surgery (including Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), prostate cancer treatment), chemotherapy, radiation, or anti-androgen therapy/androgen deprivation therapy with the following exception: patients who will have been on LHRH Agonist/Antagonist Therapy for \</= 1 month prior to registration are permitted to enroll with study PI approval. * Prior use of steroidal antiandrogens (megestrol acetate, cyproterone acetate), AR partial agonists, ketoconazole, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, estrogens, radiopharmaceuticals within 3 months before registration * Prior use of non-steroidal anti-androgens (e.g., bicalutamide, flutamide, nilutamide) within 1 month before registration * Prior treatment with medications known to lower the seizure threshold within 4 weeks of registration (see section 5.5.2 apalutamide for a list of prohibited medications) * History of another malignancy within the previous 3 years except for the following: adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer, superficial bladder cancer, adequately treated Stage I or Stage II cancer currently in complete remission, or any other cancer that has been in complete remission for at least 3 years * Severe hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh Class C) * Concurrent treatment with strong CYP3A4 inducers (e.g., phenytoin, carbamazepine, rifampin, rifabutin, rifapentine, phenobarbital) * Major surgery within 4 weeks of registration * Presence of a pacemaker * Active infection or other medical condition that would make prednisone use contraindicated * A known hypersensitivity to abiraterone acetate, apalutamide, and prednisone and/or any of their excipients * Severe or unstable angina, myocardial infarction, symptomatic congestive heart failure, arterial or venous thromboembolic events (e.g., pulmonary embolism, cerebrovascular accident including transient ischemic attacks), or clinically significant ventricular arrhythmias within 6 months prior to registration. * Seizure or known condition that may pre-dispose to seizure (including but not limited to prior stroke, transient ischemic attack, loss of consciousness within 1 year prior to randomization, brain arteriovenous malformation; or intracranial masses such as schwannomas and meningiomas that are causing edema or mass effect) * Any ECG changes that interfere with QT interval interpretation (e.g., left bundle branch block, frequent premature ventricular contractions) * Prolonged QTc \>450ms at the Screening Visit * Uncontrolled diabetes, heart disease, hypertension * Gastrointestinal disorder that may affect absorption of study treatment * Active symptomatic viral hepatitis or chronic liver disease * History of pituitary or adrenal dysfunction * Active Infection (e.g., human immunodeficiency virus \[HIV\] or viral hepatitis) or other medical condition that would make prednisone/prednisolone corticosteroid) use contraindicated * Patients with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis * Patients that cannot tolerate MRI * Inability to have fiducial markers placed * Any condition that in the opinion of the investigator, would preclude participation in this study * Enrollment concurrently in another investigational drug study or within 4 weeks of registration * Concurrent treatment with strong CYP3A4 inducers (e.g., phenytoin, carbamazepine, rifampin, rifabutin, rifapentine, phenobarbital)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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John Hopkins Medical Center
Baltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen
Montvale, New Jersey, 07645, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, 10065, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Commack
Commack, New York, 11725, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth
Middletown, New Jersey, 07748, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau
Uniondale, New York, 11553, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Rockville
Rockville Centre, New York, United States
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester
Harrison, New York, 10604, United States
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Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19107, United States
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University of Michigan Health System
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States
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Weill Cornell Medical Center
New York, New York, 10065, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can daily adaptive radiotherapy spare healthy tissue in prostate cancer?
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- Can a 10-Hour eating window fight cancer fatigue?