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Docetaxel is the current first-line treatment for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), following failure to respond to maximal androgen blockade (MAB). Patients who fail to respond to docetaxel may receive cabazitaxel or abiraterone; however, there are no recommendations on which of these two agents should be used first. Here, we present a case of a male patient suffering from CRPC with liver and lymph node metastases, in which abiraterone achieved a partial response, according to RECIST criteria. In the literature, visceral involvement in patients with advanced prostate cancer is an infrequent occurrence; it affects 18-22% of patients. In the pivotal study concerning docetaxel-resistant patients, abiraterone was compared with a placebo and the forest plot for survival demonstrated that patients with visceral involvement have significantly benefited from abiraterone. In the TROPIC trial comparing cabazitaxel with mitoxantrone, the proportion of patients with visceral disease was ∼25% in both arms and there was no difference in overall survival in this subgroup of patients. In our case, we observed a significant activity of abiraterone in lymph node and liver metastases. If confirmed in large studies, this observation may raise concerns over whether to treat patients suffering from CRPC and visceral metasis with chemotherapy or hormone therapy.

The role of EGFR in cancer development and progression has been recognized for long time in a variety of human malignancies including lung, head and neck, colon, breast, ovary and glioma. Recently its role as a target of antineoplastic agents has also been identified and a variety of EGFR-targeted drugs is already being used in a clinical setting and others are at present under investigation. Many data involving EGFR protein expression are now available for the choice of anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies in colorectal cancer and with regard to EGFR gene mutations for the choice of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in lung cancer. Other EGFR-related molecular factors, including the EGFR gene copy number, are currently under investigation. This review summarizes both preclinical and clinical available data regarding EGFR genomic alterations as prognostic and predictive factors.