Prostate Cancer and Hormone Therapy

When prostate cancer is present in the body, certain male hormones actually help it to grow. If these hormones, like testosterone, are controlled or stopped altogether, the cancer will usually stop growing also. Hormone treatment for prostate cancer is used to block the production of testosterone and other male hormones, resulting in either stalling the growth of the cancer or even shrinking it. This therapy can usually be effective in keeping cancer under control over a long period of time.

Hormone therapy for prostate cancer can also be successful when the cancer has metastasized (spread to other parts of the body) in the lungs, lymph nodes, bones, or other areas. If the disease has spread throughout the body, it’s not possible to remove the cancer with surgery because it’s too difficult to locate all the cancer cells in the body. Radiation can also fail to treat metastasized cancer, but hormone therapy affects all the cancer cells in the body, no matter where they are. It can also be used when the general state of the patient’s health rules out other treatments like surgery or chemotherapy.

Although hormonal therapy is not a cure for prostate cancer, it can do a very good job of slowing down the growth of the cancer. The three man types of hormone therapy are: anti-androgen therapy, LH-RH agonist therapy, and orchiectomy surgery.

There are three typical anti-androgen drugs used to treat prostate cancer: flutamide, bicalutamide, and nilutamide. These can be taken orally in pill form, and are used to inhibit the growth of the cancer, by blocking the production of testosterone. These anti-androgen drugs only reduce the amount of testosterone in the body rather than eliminating it completely, so it generally has fewer side effects than other treatments such as medical castration (orchiectomy). Side effects of these drugs are nausea, diarrhea, drowsiness, liver problems, fatigue or queasiness. Men do not usually find that their libido or sexual performance is affected in any way. Sometimes a doctor will take the patient off a drug for a while, or switch drugs, if it seems to be losing its effectiveness.

Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) agonists are used in order to reduce the symptoms of advanced prostate cancer. One of the most common drugs chosen to alleviate prostate cancer symptoms is Lupron Depot (leuprolide acetate for depot suspension). LH-RH agonists do not cure prostate cancer, but they can help reduce the levels of testosterone produced by the testicles. There is some evidence to suggest that these drugs can suppress testosterone levels as well as orchiectomy (surgical castration). The drawback is that these drugs are very expensive, and the treatment needs to be closely monitored, which is why orchiectomy surgery is sometimes preferred as a treatment method.

Orchiectomy is a surgical procedure which removes the testicles, and can also be called medical castration. The testicles are taken out of the scrotum, but the scrotum and the penis are left intact. Some men have prosthetic silicone sacks put into the scrotum to make it look normal. This is an invasive and irreversible form of treatment, but it is the only way to guarantee the halt of the production of testosterone, which promotes cancer growth. Orchiectomy surgery treatment has been shown to prolong the lives of those men who have advanced prostate cancer. Some men also take advantage of new technologies which can remove sperm from the testicles and keep it frozen before the testicles are removed in the event that they want a chance to father children later in life. Orchiectomy side effects which can include hot flashes, weight gain, an increase of breast tissue, loss of sexual desire, loss of muscle mass, brittle bones, and erectile dysfunction.

Related Articles

• After Prostate Cancer
• Metastasis Prostate Cancer
• Don’t let prostate cancer make you feel isolated
• Some tumors are malignant – Vital tests are important
• What is Prostate Cancer?
• What Is The Likelihood Of Prostate Cancer Recurring After Being Treated With Hormone Therapy?
• Why Are Some Races Of People More Likely To Die Of Prostate Cancer?