Men with prostate cancer treated with hormone therapy intermittently respond as well as those treated continuously. The stop-start treatments allows for quality-of-life benefits, too, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Study results showed the benefits for patients treated with intermittent therapy included fewer urinary problems and hot flushes, as well as improved libido and erectile function.
Nearly 1400 men who had received prior radiotherapy were included in the international trial. Approximately half the men received the intermittent hormone therapy, and the other half were treated with the standard, continuous hormone treatment.
Intermittent hormone therapy was delivered for 8 months and then discontinued. The level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in the patient’s blood determined when hormone treatment resumed. If the PSA level reached a certain level, the hormone treatment was restarted and given for another 8 months. This cycle was then repeated. The men were followed for an average of 7 years.
According to study results, survival was not reduced when the intermittent therapy was given, but side effects were reduced for many men.
UK chief investigator Professor David Dearnaley, professor of uro-oncology at The Institute of Cancer Research, said: “This large-scale trial has shown that periodically stopping men’s hormone therapy can give them fewer side-effects without reducing their chance of survival, and should lead to a change in clinical practice.”
Source: Cancer Research UK.