title: Response criteria in research protocols for prostatic cancer.
abstract: This paper highlights some problems in the application of different response criteria for prostatic cancer and discusses what the most practical response criteria is. In this paper, we present some results of a multi-institution collaborative clinical study which employed response criteria developed by a Japanese study group (the Japanese Response Criteria for Prostatic Cancer; JRCPC) are reported. The JRCPC assesses response of a number of foci of disease independently, i.e., primary prostatic lesion, bone metastatic lesions and serum PAP level as well as bidimensionally measurable lesions. The overall response is evaluated on the basis of the response for each of the above parameters. In the present study, the serum PAP level was found to be, at present, the most sensitive parameter for predicting survival of patients with prostatic cancer. If the response is evaluated and recorded as a function of each parameter, as in the case of the JRCPC, it is relatively easy to re-evaluate the results using other criteria, thereby making it possible to compare the results with the results of other studies which employ different criteria. In the future, it will be important to improve the accuracy of measurement of the response of a variety of parameters specific for prostatic cancer in order to establish reliable response criteria to evaluate therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akaza
mesh_terms: D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D015996:Survival Rate; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone