Embargoed until 8:00 a.m. on Sept. 23, 2008
Contacts: Beth Bukata
bethb@astro.org
Nicole Napoli
nicolen@astro.org
1-800-962-7876
Press Room Phone – Sept. 21-24
617-954-3377 or 617-954-3378
After Hours
703-431-2332
Hormone Therapy Before Radiation Seed Implants for Prostate Cancer
May Shorten Life for Older Patients
Boston – Men over 70 years of age with early-stage prostate cancer have 20 percent higher
mortality if they are treated first with hormone therapy before being treated with radiation seed implants
(brachytherapy), compared to men who are treated with brachytherapy alone, according to the largest
cohort study of its kind presented September 23, 2008, at the American Society for Therapeutic
Radiology and Oncology’s 50th Annual Meeting in Boston.
New research shows that hormone therapy can have negative effects on survival, in addition to
many other previously known side affects from this treatment. This is important to consider when
weighing treatment options, especially since hormone therapy (called neoadjuvant hormone therapy or
NHT) is sometimes used to shrink the prostate before brachytherapy treatment of localized prostate
cancer but does not improve the patient’s chance of being cured. Localized prostate cancer means it has
not spread outside of the prostate.
“Our study shows that for men over 70 with early-stage prostate cancer, androgen deprivation
therapy as a form of treatment may do more harm than good,” Amy Fox, M.D., lead author of the study
and a radiation oncology resident at the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program in Boston, said. “In older
patients, the risks of androgen deprivation need to be carefully weighed by doctors when designing the
proper treatment plan.”
Androgen deprivation therapy is hormone therapy used to treat prostate cancer by lowering the
level of male hormones (androgens) to shrink the prostate or slow down the growth of prostate cancer.
Brachytherapy is a procedure where a radiation oncologist places small radioactive seeds into the
prostate to kill the cancer cells while the man is sedated.
“These results are particularly interesting, since two previous studies that examined similar
populations contradicted each other in terms of how hormone therapy impacts the risk of death among
prostate cancer patients in this age group,” Dr. Fox said.
The cohort study involved 1,709 men at least 70 years of age with localized prostate cancer who
were treated with either NHT and brachytherapy or with brachytherapy alone at centers within the 21st
Century Oncology consortium between 1991 and 2005. Findings show that men in this age group with
localized prostate cancer who were treated with both NHT and brachytherapy had a 20 percent increased
risk of dying, compared to men who were not treated with NHT.
For more information on radiation therapy for prostate cancer, visit www.rtanswers.org.
The abstract, “Mortality in Men Age 70 or more with Localized Prostate Cancer Treated with
Brachytherapy with or without Neoadjuvant Hormonal Therapy,” will be presented in a scientific
session at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 23, 2008. To speak to the lead author of the study, Amy
Fox, M.D., please call Beth Bukata or Nicole Napoli September 21-24, 2008, in the ASTRO Press Room
at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center at 617-954-3377 or 617-954-3378. You may also email them at bethb@astro.org or nicolen@astro.org.
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