My Father

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Hello,I'm new on PCS and would greatly appreciate your advices and recommendations about my father case. My father is 74 year old and has a hormone refractory prostate cancer with bone metastasis and PSA of 98, his general health is not bad for now.Here is his clinical history :->2003 prostatectomy -Gleason 8->April 2004. PSA rise : treatment with Casodex (Bicalutamide) + radiotherapy->June 2006 : hormonotheray with Casodex and Decapeptyl (triptorelin).->December 2010 : Gosereline and Casodex->April 2011 : PSA rises from 3.4 to 7.9 ng/ml + bone

progression. Stop Casodex->June 2011 : Start Phase III clinical trial with mdv3100 or placebo + Decapeptyl (triptorelin) 11,25 mg->July 2011 : PSA 44->Aug 2011 : PSA 63 ->Sept 2011: PSA 98The medical team will reeavaluate the situation by the end of the month with full exams (scintigraphy) to decide if they stop the mdv3100/placebo and start a chemiotherapy.My questions are :-> Why the medical team is combining a Phase III clinical trial with an uneffective (or no more effective) treatment : triptorelin. I thought a Phase III clinical trial was suppposed to be in addition to the "best available treatment". What happens my father get the placebo (which seems to be the case, according to his PSA) ? Is it ethical

?->Is Chemotherapy the next step or are they other options to try before. I read the article http://www.prostate-cancer.org/pcricms/node/208 but I'm not sure to understand what it implies in this case.->What is roughly the survival estimation range for someone starting Chemotherapy in this case? ->Should I take a second opinion ? Any thoughts, advice or recommendation would be appreciated.I don't know a lot about prostate cancer so my questions may be inappropriate, in such case feel free to explain me what is wrong in my thinking.Thanks very much for your help.Regards.n.