OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the progression-free and overall survival in patients with high-risk metastatic adenocarcinoma of the prostate treated with early estramustine, etoposide, and paclitaxel with combined androgen-blockade therapy.
• Determine the type, frequency, and severity of toxicity of this regimen in this patient population.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.

• Androgen-blockade therapy: Patients receive a standard regimen of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist therapy comprising either goserelin subcutaneously once monthly or once every 3 months or leuprolide intramuscularly once monthly, once every 3 months, or once every 4 months. Patients also receive a standard regimen of antiandrogen therapy comprising oral bicalutamide, oral flutamide, or oral nilutamide once daily. Treatment continues in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
• Chemotherapy: Beginning 14-30 days after initiation of androgen-blockade therapy, patients receive oral estramustine three times daily and oral etoposide once daily on days 1-14 and paclitaxel IV over 1 hour on day 2. Treatment repeats every 21 days for 4 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Patients are followed every 3 months until disease progression, every 6 months for 2 years, and then annually for 3 years.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 80 patients will be accrued for this study within 2 years.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically or cytologically confirmed high-risk adenocarcinoma of the prostate

  • Clinical stage D2 disease as evidenced by one of the following:

    • Visceral disease (liver, lung, or other viscera)
    • Bone metastases to sites in both the axial (spine, pelvis, ribs, or skull) and appendicular (claviculae, humeri, or femora) skeleton

• No prior or concurrent (treated or untreated) brain metastases

  • Patients with clinical evidence of brain metastasis must have a negative brain CT or MRI
• No evidence of untreated spinal cord compression

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

• Over 18

Performance status:

• Zubrod 0-2

Life expectancy:

• Not specified

Hematopoietic:

• Absolute granulocyte count at least 1,500/mm^3
• Platelet count at least 100,000/mm^3
• No active hypercoagulability

Hepatic:

• Not specified

Renal:

• Not specified

Cardiovascular:

• No transient ischemic attacks, stroke, or myocardial infarction within the past 6 months
• No active coronary artery disease requiring antianginal therapy
• No active thrombophlebitis

Pulmonary:

• No history of pulmonary embolus

Other:

• No other prior malignancy within the past 5 years except adequately treated basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer or adequately treated stage I or II cancer currently in complete remission

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

• At least 4 weeks since prior biologic therapy and recovered
• No concurrent biologic therapy

Chemotherapy:

• No prior cytotoxic chemotherapy
• No other concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy:

• Prior androgen-blockade therapy (e.g., luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist and antiandrogen therapy) allowed if administered for a duration of less than 30 days
• Prior neoadjuvant hormonal therapy allowed

Radiotherapy:

• At least 4 weeks since prior radiotherapy and recovered
• No concurrent radiotherapy

Surgery:

• At least 4 weeks since prior surgery and recovered

Other:

• No concurrent bisphosphonates