A case of severe side effects to androgen receptor inhibitor and consequently switch to radioligand therapy in early castration resistant prostate cancer

The development of potent novel androgen receptor inhibitors (ARi) such as apalutamide have improved the life expectancy in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPCa). However, some serious toxicity can occur limiting the choice of treatment in CRPCa. In our case, the patient experienced severe toxicity after initiation of apalutamide. Diagnostic PSMA-PET/CT confirmed the recurrence and tailored the treatment with 177Lu-PSMA-617 (RLT), a beta emitter radionuclide. RLT resulted in prolonged progression-free survival, thus postponing the commonly seen additional toxicity of chemotherapy.The case highlights the possibility of early RLT in PSMA avid tumors, a treatment with minimal side-effects.