Search results for "cabazitaxel"

My hubby has aggressive, incurable G9 PC diagnosed in 2015.  Since last year the cancer has spread into lymph nodes and bones despite all the hormone therapy and 10 cycles of Docetaxel only had a minimal effect on it.  His PSA, which had reduced from 95 to 6.4, started rising again as soon as it finished.   He’s just had his 2nd cycle of Cabazitaxel (apparently known as a ‘last resort’ chemo) and we’ve yet to find out whether it’s started working.  Possibly some RA-223 after that.

From the posts by others in much the same situation, it looks very much as though the options are running out and suddenly it feels like the end of the road is approaching.  We’re trying to be philosophical (after all, he’s lasted longer than many men) and are playing it down to friends and acquaintances.

Unlike me, my hubby has always rejected forums, support groups, counselling, research etc so has  always been a bit in the dark about the various treatments he’s been on.  I haven’t told him about the above-mentioned posts, but even he has the feeling that time is running out at last going by some of his recent remarks.

His way of forgetting about it is to immerse himself in his voluntary work while I find Buddhist mindfulness meditation helpful but it always feels as if there’s a dark cloud overhead these days and times when I start worrying about getting end of life care (after my friend’s awful experience); also dreading being without him after having been together for 57 years.  All we can do now is make the most of our time together.

Sorry – just needed to vent!

I have just had cabazitaxel chemo finished after 14 rounds of it. They are now again talking about the carboplatin and etoposide chemo. I still have no more information about it than I had in April. Surely someone else out there can share their experience with it ?

Hi Phil,

Thanks for your reply.

I’ve read other people’s comments that they didn’t feel so bad on Cabazitaxel.  Peter’s worst ones last time were the oral thrush and strange taste.

I’m sorry it wasn’t as successful for you as hoped.  Although Peter had all 10 Docetaxel cycles his PSA only dropped to 6.4 from 95 and started rising again as soon as he’d finished the Docetaxel despite the Zoladex and steroids.  The last BT in September showed 27 but it’s probably shot up again since then. The PC was back in the  lymph nodes, bone mets too now in femur, rib and clavicle although he’s not in pain at present.

Beginning to wonder how many options are left.  Radium 223 has been vaguely mentioned.   Meanwhile he starts the Cabazitaxel next week.

Wishing you well on your own journey.

Hazel

Cabazitaxel cycles are usually 6–10, depending on the patient's tolerance and response. It is common practice to use an 80% dose to reduce toxicity, especially when side effects are a concern. The final decision on the number of cycles and dose will be individualized by your doctor based on your husband's medical condition and tolerance to the drug.

Edit by grow a garden a day ago.

Edited: by member 13 Nov 2025 at 14:52  | Reason: Not specified

Hi Churchie,

Really sorry to hear you're going through this. Neuroendocrine cases are tough, but there are options after your current carboplatin chemo, it shouldn’t just be “wait and see”.

To my knowledge, cabazitaxel + carboplatin (together) is often used for neuroendocrine / aggressive variant cases, and can be a common next step after carboplatin alone.

There are also drugs like Lurbinectedin, or Irinotecan / Topotecan (borrowed from small-cell lung cancer protocols). You don’t need to decide anything now, but it’s worth asking your oncologist about these so your team are thinking ahead and you’re not left in limbo after this first round.

The other thing which can make a real difference is full molecular profiling. Worth asking whether your tumour has been tested for:

• BRCA1/2 and other DNA repair genes (DDR panel)

• MSI (microsatellite instability)

• TMB (tumour mutational burden)

• PD-L1

The reason why I'm suggesting this is, if there’s a BRCA-type mutation, you may be eligible to have a PARP inhibitor (e.g. olaparib). If the tumour is MSI-high or TMB-high, then pembrolizumab (immunotherapy) is allowed regardless of where the cancer started. So the “wrong origin” explanation is not the whole story, the molecular profile actually matters more than the original site.

Also, it’s worth asking for a referral to a centre that runs neuroendocrine / small-cell trials. This is worth doing now rather than waiting three months. Trials for this subtype do exist, but they’re usually run in larger cancer centres, so you often need a referral.

Hope this is useful, and best of luck. 

Edited: by member 10 Nov 2025 at 23:32  | Reason: Not specified

Hi,

my husband is due to start Cabazitaxel in November.  As they haven’t let him know, I would be grateful if somebody could tell me the usual number of cycles for this chemo.  As he tolerated Docetaxel well with few side effects he had the full 10 cycles after the original 6 was proposed so I’m wondering whether it will be the same for Cabazitaxel.  I understand the side effects are much the same.

They told him that this one is stronger than Docetaxel but they also said it will be at 80% strength and am wondering if this is the usual practice.

Thanks.

Totally agree. The early trial results look very promising, especially at the 25 mg and 50 mg doses which I think is what they're testing moving forward. The 50 mg group had a 70% rate for PSA halving (or better) and 40% of them saw their PSA fall over 90%. That is obviously a very small sample size - but it's a success rate that is about twice as good as Cabazitaxel and also better than Lutetium-177, if those results are repeated. 

So that's positive news, probably explains why the Marsden people were optimistic, and with good resson. You're in very good hands, Phil. 

We have a consultation for my father next Friday with his oncologist to discuss trials. Do you happen to know if they're still accepting patients for this trial at the Marsden? We're looking at this one and the PAnTHA one at UCLH for Actinium-225 - given Lutetium-177 didn't make a dent in my father's disease, this trial could be a better option if it's still possible to get him into it. Weirdly there's nothing online about this trial coming to the UK, it's all about the US. I might enquire with the oncologist next week.

Hi all, an update on this. It's now been over 2 years since diagnosis and his disease is certainly aggressive. We did agree to move forward with Cabazitaxel before considering Lutetium-177; on balance this just made more sense in terms of sequencing.

The Cabazitaxel only briefly worked though (see below) for the first few cycles, and then PSA started rising very rapidly, and his quality of life has declined - so we had to abandon it. His scans have been showing progression, so we moved swiftly to Lutetium-177 privately, at obviously enormous expense - but fortunately my parents can cover the cost and it's certainly worth a shot, as some people seem to get very good outcomes with it, and most people see at least some improvement on this treatment. Still have Radium-223 and possibly Actinium-225 in our back pocket from here (there seems to be a trial in the UK for this at the moment; there's also the option of going to Germany or elsewhere privately for this), but obviously we're really hoping the Lutetium-177 gives good results. Even if it does, we know it won't be forever - but naturally we're all quite anxious to see things move in a positive direction.

Ultimately there's nothing more we can do for now - just need to see how things go. Here's a chronological update on the last 6 months or so (also on profile):

29 April 2025: Cabazitaxel begins, PSA 10.

Early June 2025: PSA down to 6.

22 July 2025: 5th Cabazitaxel session, but next PSA showed a rise up to 18, with the MRI scan showing progression - so future Cabazitaxel cycles stopped.

2 September 2025: first infusion of Zoledronic Acid to support his bones. He will have one of these infusions every 4 weeks moving forward. Quite nasty side effects with bad flu-like symptoms, could barely get up for the next few days. Side effects should be much less in future infusions.

4 September 2025: First Lutetium-177 treatment (private). Having two treatments for the first time in the same week was probably not the best idea, he was very worn down for a week after this, but started to bounce back slowly. Fingers crossed that the Lutetium is effective for him.

Hi Phil,

Thanks for your post. It is very helpful. I think we have had similar experiences with both Docetaxel and Cabazitaxel.

Good luck to you and everyone on this amazing forum.

Cheers

Dave C