Caution Advised When Using Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer

In men with localized but aggressive prostate cancer, the combination of testosterone-lowering therapy and radiation improves survival substantially more than radiation therapy alone. Preliminary results show that testosterone-lowering therapy is associated with more diabetes, more heart disease, and earlier heart attacks. However, this hormone therapy does have a significant benefit in curing prostate cancer. For instance, one study of patients with localized but unfavorable prostate cancer found that about 90% of otherwise healthy men who underwent radiation and hormone therapy were still alive after eight years, compared with about 65% of those who had only radiation therapy. The reverse was true among those with moderate or severe health problems in addition to their prostate cancer: only about 25% of those who underwent the combination were still alive, compared with 55% of those who had radiation alone.