Advanced Prostate Cancer: The Benefits Of Hormone Therapy
- Hormone therapy, also called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), is often the initial treatment for metastatic prostate cancer patients, which occurs when the disease spreads beyond the prostate to areas like bones and lymph nodes.
- Hormone therapy works by suppressing testosterone, a hormone that fuels prostate cancer growth. ADT can lead to reductions in tumor size, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, and often the alleviation of symptoms like pain or urinary issues.
- While not curative, hormonal therapy remains an important treatment option for metastatic prostate cancer management and can help keep cancer under control and improve quality of life.
“We certainly see a large volume of patients who, unfortunately, do present with what we call metastatic disease,” Dr. Vivek Narayan, a medical oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania, tells SurvivorNet.
Read MoreThe Benefits Of Hormone Therapy
Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) targets androgens, particularly testosterone, which play a key role in fueling prostate cancer growth.“Androgens … serve a number of important bodily functions … But one of the things that circulating androgens in the body can do is serve as a fuel source for the growth, development, and spread of prostate cancer,” explains Dr. Narayan.
By suppressing these hormones, ADT can significantly curb the progression of the disease. Its impact is far-reaching, says Dr. Narayan.
ADT can often help:
- Lower PSA levels
- Shrink tumors
- Relieve symptoms
PSA, or prostate-specific antigen, is a tumor marker used to monitor the disease’s activity. A drop in PSA often signals that the therapy is working.
“When you start something like androgen deprivation therapy, that PSA number typically will go down. It can go down quite significantly, even sometimes approaching zero or undetectable levels,” Dr. Narayan explains.
When patients have large tumors, ADT can help shrink them in size, he adds.
Hormone therapy can also help symptoms associated with the disease, such as skeletal pain or urinary issues.
“Upon initiating hormonal therapy and achieving this response, oftentimes those symptoms of the disease itself can be alleviated,” Dr. Narayan says.
While not curative, hormonal therapy remains an important treatment option for metastatic prostate cancer management.
Questions To Ask Your Doctor
- What side effects should I expect from hormone therapy?
- What can we do to help with side effects?
- How long will I need to be on ADT?
- Are there different types or combinations available?
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