Researchers found that men with intermediate-risk early-stage prostate cancer who received hormone therapy given for a short time before and during radiation therapy live longer and are less likely to have the cancer return after treatment than men who received only radiation therapy. The term intermediate risk is used to describe the chance of the prostate cancer returning after treatment, which is called a recurrence. Men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer are more likely to have a recurrence than men with low-risk prostate cancer. Hormone therapy, a treatment to reduce levels of male sex hormones called androgens that help prostate cancer grow, is mostly used to treat advanced prostate cancer. This study shows that hormone therapy may also benefit men with early-stage prostate cancer.

What this means for patients

“These data indicate that men with early-stage prostate cancer who have intermediate-risk disease stand to benefit from the addition of four months of hormone therapy prior to and during radiation therapy,” said study author Christopher Jones, MD, a partner at Radiological Associates of Sacramento, California. If you have prostate cancer, talk with your doctor about all the treatment options and combinations of treatments, including how each treatment will improve your chance of recovery.

What to Ask Your Doctor

• What type of prostate cancer do I have?
• What is the stage? What does this mean?
• What are my treatment options?
• What treatments do you recommend?

For More Information

Prostate Cancer [1]

Types of Treatment [2]