Hormonal therapy slows prostate cancer

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Four months of hormonal therapy with standard external beam radiation therapy slowed prostate cancer growth by as much as eight years, a U.S. study found.

Lead author Dr. Mack Roach III of the University of California, San Francisco, said the hormonal therapy may allow men most at risk of developing bone metastases to avoid long-term hormonal therapy.

Furthermore, the study -- published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology -- found short-term hormonal therapy did not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, a potential side effect of long-term hormonal therapy.

"This study demonstrates that the benefits of short-term hormonal therapy for men receiving radiation therapy for prostate cancer far outweigh the risks," Roach said in a statement. "While four months of hormonal therapy isn't enough to cause significant side effects, we found that it can delay the development of bone metastasis by as many as eight years, which is very significant."

The researchers studied 224 men with high-risk prostate cancer who received androgen deprivation therapy before and concurrent with external beam radiation therapy, and 232 men with the disease who received radiation therapy alone. After 13 years of follow up, the researchers found better 10-year disease-specific death rates for men who received androgen deprivation therapy.