Men with localized, high-risk prostate cancer are commonly treated with a combination of radiotherapy and long-term ADT. How long the patient needs to be on ADT remains less clear. A recent study by Nabid and colleagues (2018) compared survival and quality of life outcomes associated with either 36 months or 18 months of ADT, used in combination with radiotherapy. Five-year overall survival rates did not differ significantly between men in the 36-month versus 18-month group. It will not surprise men on ADT that the researchers’ quality of life measures point to poorer quality of life (e.g., hot flushes and less enjoyable sex, in particular) for the men on the long term ADT arm of the study.
Results should be interpreted with caution though, as only 53% of patients in the 36-month group completed the full course of ADT. However, given the lack of significant difference observed in overall survival, the authors suggest that 18 months of ADT, in combination with radiotherapy, may be a viable option for men who have particular difficulty tolerating ADT side effects.
For more information, please visit the link, below:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29980331
Nabid, A., Carrier, N., Martin, A. G., Bahary, J. P., Lemaire, C., Vass, S., Bahoric, B., Archambault, R., Vincent, F., Bettahar, R., Duclos, M., Garant, M. P., & Souhami, L. (2018). Duration of androgen deprivation therapy in high-risk prostate cancer: A randomized phase III trial. European Urology. Advance Online Publication. doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2018.06.018