Efficacy of preventive skin moisturization for dermatological adverse events caused by apalutamide: A retrospective study at 2 facilities in Japan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25251/4dmwat50Keywords:
apalutamide, moisturizing, preventive, skin care, skin rashAbstract
Background: Apalutamide is an androgen receptor antagonist used to treat patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) or metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC). One of the most frequent adverse events associated with apalutamide is skin rash, particularly in Japanese patients. Preventive skin care may reduce the frequency of apalutamide-induced skin rashes.
Methods: We compared the cumulative incidence of skin rashes between patients with and without preventive skin care. This retrospective, real-world study included 27 patients in the control group (no skin care) and 38 patients in the skin care group (preventive skin care administered).
Results: After a median follow-up of 7 months, grade 3 apalutamide-induced skin rashes occurred in 8.1% of patients (3/37) in the skin care group and 53.6% of patients (15/28) in the control group. Based on Gray’s test, the difference in incidence between groups was statistically significant (P = .002).
Conclusion: Preventive skin moisturization may reduce apalutamide-induced adverse skin events in patients with mCSPC or nmCRPC. Incorporating routine skin care may help patients maintain quality of life while receiving the full therapeutic benefit of apalutamide.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Natsuo Kimura, Keisuke Hata, Yoshiyasu Amiya, Takayuki Shima, Noriyuki Suzuki, Hiroomi Nakatsu (Author)
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