Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27602344›Full record

ArticleResearch and reports in urology2016

Intramuscular depot formulations of leuprolide acetate suppress testosterone levels below a 20 ng/dL threshold: a retrospective analysis of two Phase III studies.

Aaron Spitz, Marc Gittelman, Lawrence I Karsh, Sanja Dragnic, Ahmed M Soliman, Aditya Lele, Damian Gruca, Michael Norton

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Research and reports in urology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 7 institutions in 3 countries.

Aaron SpitzOrange County Urology Associates, Laguna Beach, CA.
Marc Gittelman21 Century Oncology/UroMedix-Aventura Division, Aventura, FL.
Lawrence I KarshThe Urology Center of Colorado, Denver, CO.
Sanja DragnicUS Medical Affairs.
Ahmed M SolimanHealth Economics and Outcomes Research.
Aditya LeleData and Statistical Sciences, AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, IL, USA.
Damian GrucaGlobal Medical Affairs, AbbVie Deutschland, Ludwigshafen, Germany.
Michael NortonUS Medical Affairs.
Veterans Health Administration · US21st Century Oncology (United States) · USAbbVie (Germany) · DEAbbVie (United States) · USHealth Economics and Outcomes Research (United Kingdom) · GBThe Urology Center of Colorado · USUrology Associates · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionAndrogen deprivation therapy (ADT) with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogs is a standard treatment for advanced prostate cancer. GnRH analog therapy can reduce testosterone to "castrate" levels, historically defined as <50 ng/dL. With the advent of newer assays, a lower threshold of <20 ng/dL has recently been proposed. We report the results of a retrospective analysis of two Phase III trials of 4- and 6-month depot microsphere formulations of leuprolide acetate (LA), a GnRH agonist that has previously demonstrated efficacy in testosterone suppression to <50 ng/dL in patients on ADT. This analysis investigates the ability of these LA formulations to suppress to ≤20 ng/dL levels.

methodsIn two of five AbbVie/Abbott clinical trials of microsphere formulations of LA for ADT, analytic technology permitting testosterone detection as low as 3 ng/dL was used and thus was selected for this analysis. Both trials were open-label, fixed-dose studies in prostate cancer patients, naïve to ADT. Patients received either 30 mg (4-month formulation; n=49) or 45 mg (6-month formulation; n=151) depot injections of LA microspheres. Treatment duration was up to 32 weeks for the 4-month formulation and 48 weeks for the 6-month formulation. The proportion of patients achieving the 20 ng/dL threshold was determined every 4 weeks.

resultsPooled analysis showed that 152 of 193 (79%) of patients achieved serum testosterone levels of ≤20 ng/dL at 4 weeks, and sustained the improvement at week 24 (169/189, 89%). Additionally, in the 6-month study, 127/135 (94.1%) patients were suppressed to ≤20 ng/dL at 48 weeks.

conclusionBoth 4- and 6-month intramuscular depot formulations of LA achieved and maintained mean serum testosterone levels ≤20 ng/dL in the vast majority of patients as early as 4 weeks following treatment initiation. Additional research on the clinical relevance of this lower testosterone threshold is warranted.

Indexed as

androgen deprivation therapycastrate levelsgonadotropin-releasing hormone analogprostate cancer

Identifiers

PMID27602344
PMCPMC5003568
OpenAlexW2512621266

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.