Effect of abiraterone combined with prednisone on serum CgA and NSE in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer without previous chemotherapy

Purpose: To investigate the influence of a combination of abiraterone and prednisone on serum chromogranin A (CgA) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) without previous chemotherapy, so as to provide reference data for drug therapy of prostate cancer. Methods: A total of 103 mCRPC patients without chemotherapy from January 2013 to March 2017 were included in this retrospective study. Seventy-one (71) patients received prednisone combined with abiraterone (study group), while 32 patients accepted prednisone (control group). The CgA, NSE and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the two groups were monitored, while PSA progression-free survival (PSA-PFS), radiographic PFS (rPFS), and overall survival (OS) were determined during follow-up. Results: PSA-PFS, rPFS and OS in the study group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). The increased proportion of CgA or NSE in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group at 6 months of treatment (p < 0.05). The occurrences of NED before treatment and 6 months after treatment were both independent predictors of PSA and radiographic progression in the study group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The combination of prednisone and abiraterone is helpful for prognosis in mCRPC patients that are not on chemotherapy. The occurrence of NED predicts mostly poor prognosis of mCRPC patients on a combination of abiraterone and prednisone.