Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid in Treating Patients With Nonmetastatic Relapsed Prostate Cancer

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Histologically confirmed prostate cancer, meeting 1 of the following criteria:
• Androgen-dependent disease (testosterone ≥ 250 ng/mL)
• Androgen-independent disease (testosterone < 50 ng/mL)
• Received prior definitive therapy for primary prostate cancer comprising any of the following:
• External-beam radiotherapy with or without hormonal therapy
• Brachytherapy with or without pelvic external-beam radiotherapy or hormonal therapy
• Radical prostatectomy with or without adjuvant or salvage radiotherapy
• Cryotherapy
• Must have evidence of disease progression, as evidenced by elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) that has risen serially from post-definitive therapy nadir on 2 determinations taken ≥ 1 week apart
• Elevated PSA, meeting 1 of the following criteria:
• At least 1.0 ng/mL post radiotherapy or cryotherapy
• At least 4 ng/mL post radical prostatectomy
• Must show disease progression after discontinuation of the antiandrogen (for patients with androgen-dependent disease receiving antiandrogen as part of primary androgen ablation)
• No metastatic disease, confirmed by negative bone scan and negative CT scan or MRI of abdomen/pelvis

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Karnofsky performance status 70-100%
• Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,500/mm³
• Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL
• Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm³
• Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Bilirubin ≤ 1.5 times ULN
• AST ≤ 1.5 times ULN
• No other medical condition that would interfere with study therapy or compliance
• No other active malignancy except previously treated squamous cell or basal cell skin cancer or cancer that has been treated and considered to be at < 30% risk of relapse
• Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics
• More than 8 weeks since prior strontium-chloride Sr 89
• More than 4 weeks since first dose of bisphosphonates
• More than 4 weeks since prior major surgery or radiotherapy
• At least 4 weeks since prior hormonal agents, including megestrol or steroids
• Concurrent luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogs allowed to maintain castrate levels of testosterone
• At least 4 weeks since prior and no concurrent saw palmetto, finasteride, or any herbal agent intended to lower PSA
• Prior adjuvant or neoadjuvant androgen-deprivation therapy allowed for androgen-dependent prostate cancer provided that all of the following are met:
• No more than 8 months of androgen deprivation
• At least 12 months since last day of effective androgen deprivation
• Testosterone > 250 ng/mL at enrollment
• Prior hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, or investigational therapy for biochemical relapse allowed
• No concurrent chemotherapeutic, immunotherapeutic, or other investigational agents
• No concurrent radiotherapy
• No concurrent filgrastim (G-CSF) or sargramostim (GM-CSF)