Docetaxel and Prednisone With or Without Bevacizumab in Treating Patients With Prostate Cancer That Did Not Respond to Hormone Therapy

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine if the addition of bevacizumab to docetaxel and prednisone increases overall survival compared to docetaxel and prednisone alone in patients with HRPC. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To compare the progression-free survival of these two regimens in patients with HRPC. II. To compare the two regimens on the proportion of patients who experience a 50% post-therapy PSA decline from baseline. III. To compare the two regimens with respect to the proportion of patients who experience grade 3 or higher toxicities. OUTLINE: This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to predicted 24-month survival probability (\< 10% vs 10-29.9% vs ≥ 30%), age (\< 65 years vs ≥ 65 years), and prior history of arterial events (i.e., cardiac ischemia/infarction, CNS cerebrovascular ischemia, peripheral arterial ischemia, or CNS hemorrhage) (yes vs no). Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. ARM I: Patients receive docetaxel IV over 1 hour and placebo IV over 30-90 minutes on day 1. Patients also receive oral prednisone once daily on days 1-21. ARM II: Patients receive docetaxel and prednisone as in arm I. Patients also receive bevacizumab IV over 30-90 minutes on day 1. In both arms, courses repeat every 21 days for up to 2 years in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed periodically for up to 5 years.