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ADT: What You Really Need to Know

The only people who really like androgen deprivation therapy (also called ADT, or hormonal therapy) are the drug companies that make billions of dollars a year selling the drugs. Doctors don’t like it, and men don’t like being on these drugs.

So why do it?

There are very few specific situations when ADT therapy is the right thing to do. These are the most common:

* Intermediate-risk men who are given six months of ADT plus external-beam radiation;

* High-risk men who are getting radiation therapy. This is a finite course of ADT, and this combination – two or three years of ADT plus external-beam radiation – has been proven to cure cancer in many…

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 What is the Best Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer?

In men that have relatively mild situations with their prostate cancer or perhaps if they’re elderly a medicine called Casodex—an anti-androgen—has a lot fewer side effects but it’s still pretty potent. It’s no quite as potent as the standard thing they call hormone therapy which are the Lupron or Lupron related drugs. So a milder oral agent like Casodex is a very logical consideration in someone who has say a Basic-Teal or someone who is elderly or perhaps has some impaired health and can’t think about going on stronger therapy.

Articles of Interest

Managing side effects of ADT

Stress the importance of exercise as the single most beneficial therapy for ADT side effects and prevent the mental and metabolic snowball effect.

A closer look at hormonal therapy for prostate cancer

When used properly, this treatment can make a world of difference for many patients.

Diet and exercise limit heart disease risk in men undergoing hormonal treatments for advanced prostate cancer

But even as ADT helps men live longer, it exerts a toll on the body. Men can lose muscle and bone mass, gain weight, and they face higher risks for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Hormonal therapy for aggressive prostate cancer: How long is enough?

Men weighing treatment options for intermediate- or high-risk cancer that is still localized to the prostate can face a tricky question. A standard approach in these cases is to give radiation to the prostate along with drugs that block testosterone, a hormone that makes the cancer cells grow faster. For how long should this hormone therapy last? That’s not entirely clear.

Hormone Blockers Can Prolong Life if Prostate Cancer Recurs

Men whose prostate cancer comes back after surgery are more likely to survive if, along with the usual radiation, they also take drugs to block male hormones.

Hormone Therapy Can Make Prostate Cancer Worse, Study Finds

Scientists at Cedars-Sinai have discovered how prostate cancer can sometimes withstand and outwit a standard hormone therapy, causing the cancer to spread. Their findings also point to a simple blood test that may help doctors predict when this type of hormone therapy resistance will occur.

Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is fueled by hormones called androgens. The primary male androgen is testosterone. Hormone therapy, also called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), stops or slows the body’s ability to make testosterone. The goal is to stop tumor growth and/or shrink the tumor. In many cases, prostate cancer tumors respond to the removal of testosterone. However, some cancer cells grow independently of testosterone and remain unaffected by this treatment. These hormone-independent cells continue to progress and hormone therapy will have less of an impact on the tumor over time. For this reason, hormone therapy can't stop cancer. However, it is an important part of the treatment regimen in most cases during recurrent or advanced prostate cancer.

Study Warns of Alzheimer’s Risk in Some Prostate-Cancer Drugs

Men taking testosterone-blocking drugs have nearly twice the risk of developing disease as those using other treatments.

Resources

Casodex (Bicalutamide)

Casodex has fewer side effects than Lupron because it blocks testosterone’s activity instead of completely eradicating testosterone from the blood as Lupron does. Men on Casodex tend to experience less fatigue and a more moderate loss of libido* compared to men on Lupron.

Lupron (Leuprolide)

So for the purpose of this post, I’m gonna talk about Lupron in the context of prostate cancer. Now, I’m picking Lupron (leuprolide acetate) because that is what Dr. Jafri’s office has but there are many cousins of Lupron and your urologist may prescribe a different shot. These are all in the class of LHRH agonists.

Prostate Cancer Foundation

Hormone therapy, also known as androgen-deprivation therapy or ADT, is designed to stop testosterone from being released or to prevent the hormone from acting on the prostate cells. Although hormone therapy plays an important role in men with advancing prostate cancer, it is increasingly being used before, during, or after local treatment as well.

Prostate Cancer Treatment Guide

Prostate cancer hormone therapy is the systemic ablation of the body''s testosterone which, for a period of time, will slow or stop the growth and spread of prostate cancer. Hormone therapy may also be called androgen deprivation or androgen ablation.

Prostate Cancer UK

Hormone therapy is an option for many men with prostate cancer, but it’s used in different ways depending on whether your cancer has spread.

National Cancer Institute

Hormone therapy for prostate cancer—also called androgen suppression therapy or androgen deprivation therapy—can block the production and use of androgens.