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Androgen
Deprivation Therapy as Primary Treatment for Men with Localized Prostate
Cancer
Androgen
Deprivation Therapy (ADT) is usually an effective form of treatment for
men with prostate cancer, although it is not a curative measure.
Despite this, the use of hormonal therapies for localized disease
has become very common and has increased substantially over time. This
retrospective study found that 14.1% of men with clinically localized
disease received ADT as primary treatment.
Patients undergoing primary ADT were older, less educated, had
lower income, and had worse disease characteristics than those undergoing
curative treatment. At five
years after initiation of PADT 67% of patients were still being treated
with only androgen deprivation. 14%
of patients went on to receive definitive second treatment (radical
prostatectomy, external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy or cryotherapy),
4% underwent second line therapy (chemotherapy or alternative hormonal
deprivation), 4% died from prostate cancer, and 19% died from all causes. The use of PADT therapy appears to control disease in the majority of patients with localized disease who receive it, at least for intermediate periods of time. The impact of PADT on quality of life and resource use needs to be compared to standard therapy and its long-term durability better assessed.
Bibliographical reference:
Jun Kawakami Department of Urology, Program in Urologic Oncology, Urologic Outcomes Research Group, University of California - San Francisco Cancer Center, San Francisco
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