Fulvestrant in Treating Patients With Recurrent Prostate Cancer

You may be eligible if

• DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• Histologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the prostate
• * Early recurrent disease, defined by 1 of the following criteria:
• * Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ≥ 2.0 ng/mL AND clearly rising within the past 3 months for patients who underwent prior prostatectomy with or without radiotherapy
• * PSA ≥ 4.0 ng/mL AND clearly rising from the lowest value obtained within the past 6 months for patients who underwent prior definitive radiotherapy only
• No evidence of clinical recurrence,\* as defined by the following criteria:
• * Digital rectal exam negative
• * No local recurrence by CT scan or MRI of the pelvis
• * No evidence of bone metastasis by bone scan NOTE: \*Prostascint scan results are not considered evidence of recurrence
• Underwent prior curative treatment comprising radical prostatectomy with or without adjuvant radiotherapy OR definitive radiotherapy alone
• Testosterone (total or free) \> than lower limit of normal
• PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• Age
• Any age
• Performance status
• ECOG 0-1
• Life expectancy
• Not specified
• Hematopoietic
• WBC \> 3,500/mm\^3
• Platelet count \> 100,000/mm\^3
• No history of bleeding diathesis
• Hepatic
• INR \< 1.6
• Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• ALT or AST ≤ 2.5 times ULN
• No severe hepatic impairment that would preclude study participation or compliance
• Renal
• Creatinine ≤ 2.0 mg/dL
• No severe renal impairment that would preclude study participation or compliance
• Cardiovascular
• No unstable or uncompensated cardiac condition that would preclude study participation or compliance
• Pulmonary
• No unstable or uncompensated respiratory condition that would preclude study participation or compliance
• Other
• No history of hypersensitivity to active or inactive excipients of fulvestrant (e.g., castor oil)
• No other severe condition that would preclude study compliance (e.g., abuse of alcohol or drugs or psychotic states) or participation
• PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• Biologic therapy
• Not specified
• Chemotherapy
• Not specified
• Endocrine therapy
• More than 6 months since prior neoadjuvant or adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy or luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone antagonist therapy
• No other prior or concurrent hormonal therapy
• Radiotherapy
• See Disease Characteristics
• No concurrent radiotherapy
• Surgery
• See Disease Characteristics
• Other
• More than 4 weeks since prior experimental drug treatment
• No concurrent anticoagulant therapy except antiplatelet therapy
• No other concurrent therapy for prostate cancer
• No other concurrent therapy known or suspected of altering androgen metabolism or androgen levels