Apalutamide plus ADT improves surgical outcomes in high-risk prostate cancer
Published on 31 May 2026
Dr Kibel talks to ecancer at ASCO 2026 about data from the PROTEUS trial.
The phase 3 PROTEUS trial evaluated perioperative apalutamide (APA) plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in patients with high-risk localized or locally advanced prostate cancer undergoing radical prostatectomy.
Compared with placebo plus ADT, the addition of APA significantly improved both primary endpoints, with a markedly higher rate of pathologic complete response or minimal residual disease (8.9% vs 1.0%) and a 20% reduction in the risk of metastasis or death.
Secondary outcomes, including event-free survival, time to subsequent treatment, and time to distant metastasis, also favoured APA. Although higher rates of grade 3/4 adverse events were observed with APA, Dr Taplin notes that the overall results demonstrate perioperative APA plus ADT enhances surgical outcomes and supports its use as a new standard of care in this high-risk population.
Read the news story here.