Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40106307›Full record

Trial reportCancer2025

Tumor burden and heterogenous treatment effect of apalutamide in metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer.

Wataru Fukuokaya, Keiichiro Mori, Takafumi Yanagisawa, Fumihiko Urabe, Pawel Rajwa, Alberto Briganti, Shahrokh F Shariat, Nobuaki Matsubara, Takahiro Kimura, Akihiro Hirakawa

Registry-linked trialAbstract readClinical Trial, Phase IIIMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02489318 (A Phase 3 Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Double-blind Study of Apalutamide Plus Androgen Deprivation Therapy), which is not on this map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT02489318 phase3active not recruitingnot on this map

A Phase 3 Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Double-blind Study of Apalutamide Plus Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) Versus ADT in Subjects With Metastatic Hormone-sensitive Prostate Cancer (mHSPC)

TypeinterventionalSponsorAragon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Ran2015 to 2027Enrolled1,052ConditionsProstate CancerArmsApalutamide, Placebo, Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT)
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
  3. Review
  4. Article
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

10 authors.

Wataru FukuokayaDepartment of Clinical Biostatistics, Institute of Science Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Keiichiro MoriDepartment of Urology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Takafumi YanagisawaDepartment of Urology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7410-0712
Fumihiko UrabeDepartment of Urology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Pawel RajwaSecond Department of Urology, Center of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland.
Alberto BrigantiDepartment of Urology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
Shahrokh F ShariatDepartment of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Nobuaki MatsubaraDepartment of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Chiba, Japan.
Takahiro KimuraDepartment of Urology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Akihiro HirakawaDepartment of Clinical Biostatistics, Institute of Science Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInvestigation remains incomplete regarding potential variations in the effect of androgen receptor pathway inhibitors, including apalutamide, based on baseline tumor burden in patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC).

methodsThe authors analyzed individual participant-level data from 1052 patients with mCSPC who were randomized in the TITAN trial (apalutamide vs. placebo, both with androgen-deprivation therapy). Outcomes included radiographic progression-free survival (PFS), second PFS (PFS2), and overall survival (OS). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models, with and without restricted cubic splines, were used to determine the association between apalutamide benefit and bone metastasis count or visceral metastasis. Subgroup treatment effects were quantified based on inverse probability of treatment weighting-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs).

resultsAnalysis using restricted cubic splines indicated that apalutamide provided less benefit for PFS2 and OS in patients with fewer bone metastases. The authors also found evidence of a heterogeneous effect of apalutamide on PFS2 and OS between patients with two or less bone metastases and those with three or more bone metastases. In patients who had two or less bone metastases, there was no evidence of a benefit from apalutamide for radiographic PFS (HR, 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.35-1.22), PFS2 (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 0.66-2.12), or OS (HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.60-1.83). No evidence of an association was noted between visceral metastasis and apalutamide benefit.

conclusionsThe addition of apalutamide to androgen-deprivation therapy may provide less benefit in patients with mCSPC who have fewer bone metastases. Counting baseline bone metastases may help identify optimal candidates for apalutamide treatment of mCSPC. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: NCT02489318 PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: In an analysis of individual participant data from a trial (the TITAN trial) in patients with metastatic (spreading) castration-sensitive prostate cancer, treatment intensification based on the addition new drugs to standard androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) was analyzed and compared with the effects in patients who received only standard ADT. Compared with ADT alone, the survival benefit of adding the new drug apalutamide to standard ADT varied according to the number of bone metastases, but no association was observed between the spread of cancer to soft tissues and organs and a survival benefit from adding apalutamide. The results indicate that counting the number of bone metastases may help identify which patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer are optimal candidates for treatment intensification with the addition of apalutamide to standard ADT.

Indexed as

Androgen Receptor AntagonistsBone NeoplasmsProstatic Neoplasms, Castration-ResistantThiohydantoinsTumor BurdenAgedAndrogen AntagonistsHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm MetastasisProgression-Free SurvivalTreatment OutcomeAndrogen AntagonistsAndrogen Receptor AntagonistsapalutamideThiohydantoinsapalutamidecastration‐sensitive prostate cancerheterogeneity in treatment effectprostate cancer

Identifiers

PMID40106307
PMCPMC11922167

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Registered trials

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.