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Hormone therapyHormones control the growth and activity of body cells. Testosterone is the major male hormone that occurs naturally in the body. Hormones act like a fuel to feed the cancer cells and keep them active. By consequence, prostate cancer cells depend of these hormones.Hormone therapy acts by lowering the testosterone being made in your body. Because prostate cancer depend of these hormones, when the amount of testosterone is reduced, it is possible to slow down or shrink the tumor. Sometimes the symptoms disappear completely. Also known as androgen deprivation therapy, hormone therapy can be used by itself or in combination with radiation therapy or surgery (radical prostatectomy) to treat prostate cancer. What treatment is recommended for you, will depend on if the tumor has spread outside the prostate gland. How testosterone leve is reduced
The testosterone levels can be reduced either by surgery or drugs. As testosterone is mainly made in the testes,
surgery means castration and it is performed in advanced stages when cancer has spread to the bone and is affecting
the spinal cord.
These days, patients are more likely to have drug based hormone treatment than surgery. For this, here are two main types of drugs called Pituitary down regulators and Anti androgens Usually patients have either an anti androgen or a pituitary down regulator. But they may have them together for a short time to if the doctor wants to prevent tumor flare or if cancer is showing signs of becoming resistant to one of the drugs taken on its own. Pituitary down regulators are generally thought to be more effective, but high dose of anti androgens is also sometimes used for locally advanced prostate cancer (stage 3). When is hormone therapy prescribed?When the tumor is localized in prostate it is successfully treated with surgery. When cancer cells migrate in the body, hormone therapy is more effective. Patients with very early prostate cancer that can be cured with radiotherapy or surgery, won't need hormone therapy if they are not at high risk for recurrence.Hormone therapy is prescribed only after surgery because having it beforehand can make more technically difficult for your surgeon to get the cancer out. When cancer is potentially curable, patients may have hormone therapy for a few months before radical radiotherapy. Most doctors will also recommend patients to have some hormone therapy together with radiotherapy treatment. The exact treatment will depend on stage and grade of cancer, age and general health of patients. Side effects of hormone therapyTestosterone plays a significant role in establishing and maintaining the typical male characteristics. Because loss of testosterone can alter man lifestyle, the patient should have a discussion regarding the effects of hormone therapy before beginning it.The degree to which any man will be affected by testosterone loss is very hard to predict, but the patients must know that the list of potential effects is long: hot flashes, erectile dysfunction, decreased sexual desire, decreased muscle mass, fatigue, anemia, osteoporosis, weight gain and memory loss. Latest NewsA new study shows that a substantial minority of men receiving so-called androgen deprivation therapy, or ADT, for prostate cancer experience erectile dysfunction (ED). However, many respond well to ED therapy, doctors from Memphis have found. [ read full article ] An increasingly common therapy used for localized prostate cancer may not bestow any survival benefits on the patient beyond those seen with a simple "wait-and-see" approach. [ read full article ] A therapy that involves depriving the prostate gland the male hormone androgen is not associated with improved survival for elderly men with localized prostate cancer, compared to conservative management of the disease, according to a study in the July 9 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. [ read full article ] Adding hormone therapy to radiation treatment for fast-moving prostate cancer can save lives, but the benefit often doesn't apply to men who have other serious medical problems [ read full article ] [ read more articles ] NOTE: Issues on this site regarding men's health and their concerns, are provided for information only, and are not meant to substitute for the advice of your own physician or other medical professional. Prostate-Report.org does not endorse any specific product, service or treatment. |
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