Docetaxel, Androgen Ablation, and External-Beam Radiation Therapy in Patients With High-Risk Localized Prostate Cancer

OBJECTIVES: Primary * Determine the dose-limiting toxicity and maximum tolerated dose of docetaxel when administered in combination with androgen ablation therapy and adaptive external-beam radiotherapy in patients with high-risk localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Secondary * Determine the 2-year biochemical progression-free survival of patients treated with this regimen. OUTLINE: This is a multicenter, open-label, dose-escalation study of docetaxel. * Androgen ablation therapy: Patients receive leuprolide acetate or other luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist beginning 2-3 months prior to the start of chemoradiotherapy and continuing for up to 2 years. * Chemoradiotherapy: Patients receive docetaxel IV over 1 hour on day 1 and high-dose external-beam radiotherapy on days 1-5. Treatment repeats every 7 days for 8 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Cohorts of 3-6 patients receive escalating doses of docetaxel until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is determined. The MTD is defined as the dose preceding that at which 2 of 3 or 2 of 6 patients experience dose-limiting toxicity. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed every 3 months.