Supraphysiological Androgen to Enhance Chemotherapy Treatment Activity in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer, SPECTRA Study

This phase II trial studies how well giving testosterone at levels higher than normally found in the body (supraphysiological) works to enhance chemotherapy treatment in patients with prostate cancer that has progressed despite being previously treated with androgen therapies and has spread from where it first started (prostate) to other places in the body (metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer). In patients that have developed progressive cancer in spite of standard hormonal treatment, administering supraphysiological testosterone may result in regression of tumors by causing deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage in tumor cells that have adapted to low testosterone conditions. Carboplatin is in a class of medications known as platinum-containing compounds. Carboplatin works by killing, stopping or slowing the growth of tumor cells. Etoposide is in a class of medications known as podophyllotoxin derivatives. It blocks a certain enzyme needed for cell division and DNA repair and may kill tumor cells. Giving supraphysiological levels of testosterone and carboplatin or etoposide together may be an effective treatment for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.