According to a new study, men who have prostate cancer that is considered an “intermediate risk” should seek out radiation along with four months of hormone survival. The study did note, however, that this combination of treatment options was not as successful when it came to men with either low-risk prostate cancer or particularly advanced prostate cancer. That last category, unlike the others, was best treated with long-term hormone therapy.
"For patients with early, localized cancer of the prostate who were treated with radiation therapy, [by] adding short-term androgen deprivation therapy, we improved their cure rates and increased their chance of living 10 years from 57 percent to 62 percent," said lead researcher Dr. Christopher U. Jones, from Radiological Associates of Sacramento, Calif.
The same study noted that unnecessary hormone therapy (in low risk subjects) should be avoided. According to Jones, even though "not very toxic, there are [still] some toxicities," Jones noted. "We don't want to treat any man unnecessarily with that type of treatment. We really want to make sure -- if we are going to recommend that treatment -- the person really needs it.
"We can give 15 to 20 percent higher doses of radiation now than we could then, and we can do it more safely and more accurately," he said. So, that brings into question how much, if any, hormone therapy is needed, he added.
The study was published in the July 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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