Prostate Cancer Patients on Longer Hormone Therapy Don’t Necessarily Live Longer, Study Finds
According to a study presented November 5, 2006, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 48th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia:
Prostate cancer patients treated with either radiation or surgery who use hormone therapy for longer than six months do not survive any longer than patients who use the treatment for a shorter amount of time.
Most high risk prostate cancer patients are currently being treated with two or more years of hormone therapy based on a decade-old study results.
The new findings, headed by Cliff Robinson, M.D., lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, suggest that treating current patients with shorter-term hormone therapy may not only be equally effective, but also improve their quality of life, because of a lesser degree of treatment side effects.
Androgen deprivation therapy is a hormone therapy used to treat prostate cancer by lowering the level of male hormones (androgens) to shrink or slow down the growth of prostate cancer.
The new study also found that patients receiving longer than six months of hormone therapy were twice as likely to die as patients who use the treatment for a shorter amount of time.
According to Dr. Robinson:
“The reasons why patients receiving longer term hormone therapy may do worse are unclear. A number of factors could complicate the issue, and this area needs further investigation before any conclusions can be drawn.”
Find more details from the ASTRO press release.
Tags: androgen-deprivation-therapy, hormone-therapy, prostate-cancerRelated Stories
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