Docetaxel and Prednisone With/Out OGX-011 in Recurrent or Metastatic Prostate Cancer That Did Not Respond to Previous Hormone Therapy

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

* Histologically or cytologically confirmed adenocarcinoma of the prostate

  * Metastatic or locally recurrent disease
* Not curable with standard therapy
* Systemic chemotherapy is indicated, due to disease progression while receiving androgen-ablative therapy (i.e., hormone-refractory disease)

  * Disease progression is defined as development of new metastatic lesions OR ≥ 2 consecutive rises in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) over a reference value
  * Androgen ablative therapy must have included either medical or surgical castration

    * Castrate level of testosterone (≤ 1.7 nmol/L) required if treated with medical androgen ablation
  * Patients with documented disease progression while on peripheral antiandrogens must also have documented PSA progression after stopping antiandrogens
* PSA ≥ 5 ng/mL
* No known CNS metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Performance status

* ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy

* At least 12 weeks

Hematopoietic

* Absolute granulocyte count ≥ 1,500/mm\^3
* Platelet count ≥ 100,000/mm\^3
* No known bleeding disorder

Hepatic

* PT and PTT or INR normal
* Bilirubin normal
* AST and ALT ≤ 1.5 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

Renal

* Creatinine ≤ 1.5 times ULN

Cardiovascular

* No significant cardiac dysfunction

Other

* Fertile patients must use effective contraception
* No pre-existing peripheral neuropathy ≥ grade 2
* No active, uncontrolled infection
* No significant neurological disorder that would preclude study compliance
* No history of other malignancies within the past 5 years except adequately treated nonmelanoma skin cancer

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Chemotherapy

* No prior chemotherapy except estramustine and recovered
* No other concurrent chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

* See Disease Characteristics
* At least 4 weeks since prior antiandrogens (6 weeks for bicalutamide)
* Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist therapy must be continued\* or restarted\* during study treatment to maintain castrate levels of testosterone NOTE: \*For patients receiving LHRH agonist therapy prior to study entry

Radiotherapy

* At least 4 weeks since prior external beam radiotherapy except low-dose, nonmyelosuppressive radiotherapy

  * Must have had less than 25% of marrow irradiated
* No prior strontium chloride Sr 89
* No concurrent radiotherapy except low-dose, nonmyelosuppressive, palliative radiotherapy

Surgery

* At least 2 weeks since prior major surgery

Other

* At least 4 weeks since prior investigational agent
* At least 4 weeks since prior anticancer therapy
* No concurrent therapeutic anticoagulants except low-dose oral anticoagulants (i.e., 1 mg warfarin) or low molecular weight heparin
* No other concurrent investigational agents
* No other concurrent cytotoxic therapy