Benefit:
Giving chemotherapy earlier, at the same time as hormone therapy, to men whose prostate cancer has spread beyond the prostate and the surrounding area, can help keep them alive for longer.
Side Effects:
- 15 out of 100 people who took docetaxel developed febrile neutropenia (that is, they got a fever because the chemotherapy had reduced their white blood cells' ability to fight infection).
- 1 out of 100 people who took docetaxel died because of infections that, in the opinion of the investigators, they might not have developed if they had not received docetaxel.
- 8 out of 100 people who took docetaxel felt unusually weak or tired.
- 8 out of 100 people who took docetaxel experienced gastrointestinal symptoms (including diarrhoea, abdominal pain, constipation and/or vomiting).
- 5 out of 100 people who took docetaxel experienced respiratory symptoms (including breathlessness and/or chest infections).
- 4 out of 100 people who took docetaxel experienced problems with their nervous systems (for example, numbness or weakness).
- 1 out of 100 people who took docetaxel experienced problems with their nails that were serious enough to interfere with their daily lives.
The information given is taken from the NICE guidelines and is based on evidence from a large UK trial (STAMPEDE).