Docetaxel and Erlotinib in Treating Older Patients With Prostate Cancer

OBJECTIVES: Primary * Determine the response rate and response duration in older patients with progressive hormone refractory prostate cancer treated with docetaxel and erlotinib. Secondary * Determine the safety of this regimen in these patients. * Evaluate the quality of life of patients treated with this regimen. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. * Initial combination therapy: Patients receive docetaxel IV over 1 hour on day 1 and oral erlotinib once daily on days 1-21. Treatment repeats every 21 days for up to 9 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Patients with responding disease receive 3 additional courses beyond maximal response. * Extension phase: After 9 courses of initial combination therapy, patients achieving a complete response, partial response, or stable disease receive 8 courses of erlotinib alone (total of 17 courses of study treatment). Quality of life is assessed at baseline, day 1 of each course, and at the end of study treatment. For patients in the extension phase, quality of life is also assessed on day 1 of courses 10, 12, 14, and 16. Patients are followed every 3 months. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 22 patients will be accrued for this study within 24 months.