Wednesday 5 September 2012
Men with prostate cancer who receive hormone therapy intermittently respond as well as those who receive it over a continuous time period, and enjoy quality-of-life benefits, according to a new Cancer Research UK-funded study* published in the New England Journal of Medicine today.
The researchers showed there was potential benefit for intermittent over continuous therapy in terms of fewer urinary problems and hot flushes, as well as improved libido and erectile function.
The international trial - which in the UK was funded by Cancer Research UK and led by The Institute of Cancer Research, London - included nearly 1,400 men for whom treatment with radiotherapy had not cleared their cancer. Around half the men had the new timing of intermittent hormone therapy and the other half had the standard, continuous hormone treatment.
Intermittent hormone therapy was delivered for eight months and then stopped. Doctors decided when to restart a patient’s treatment by testing for the level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in their blood. If the PSA reached a certain level the hormone treatment began again and was given for another eight months. This cycle then continued.
Results showed that survival was not reduced when the intermittent therapy was given and that, for many men, side-effects were reduced and could lead to an improved quality of life. The men were followed for an average of around seven years.
UK chief investigator Professor David Dearnaley, professor of uro-oncology at The Institute of Cancer Research and honorary consultant at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This large-scale trial has shown that periodically stopping men’s hormone therapy can give them fewer side-effects without reducing their chance of survival, and should lead to a change in clinical practice. More than 10,000 men are treated with potentially curative radiotherapy for prostate cancer each year in the UK and so our findings have the potential to benefit thousands of men.”
Cancer of the prostate depends on the male hormone testosterone for its growth. Hormone therapy for prostate cancer works by lowering the amount of testosterone in the body, helping to reduce the chance of an early prostate cancer coming back after radiotherapy. Or it can shrink an advanced prostate tumour down or slow its growth.
More than 40,800 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK every year. In 2010 around 10,700 men in the UK died from prostate cancer.
Kate Law, Cancer Research UK’s director of clinical research, said: “Results such as these highlight the value of clinical trials. Refining treatment to reduce side-effects and improve the outcome for patients remains the key goal. And being able to reduce the side-effects of prostate cancer treatments from currently available treatments offers patients and their doctors the potential of a new option of how their treatment is delivered.”
The study was led globally by the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group and co-ordinated in the UK by The Institute of Cancer Research’s Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit.
-ENDS-
Media contact: Paul Thorne in the Cancer Research UK press office on 020 3469 8352 or, out of hours, on 07050 264 059 or Science Communications Manager Jane Bunce on 0207 153 5106 or out of hours 07217 47900
Notes to editor:
* Crook, J. et al Intermittent Androgen Suppression for Rising PSA after Radiation. New England Journal of Medicine, 2012.
The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) is one of the world’s most influential cancer research institutes.
Scientists and clinicians at the ICR are working every day to make a real impact on cancer patients’ lives. Through its unique partnership with The Royal Marsden Hospital and ‘bench-to-bedside’ approach, the ICR is able to create and deliver results in a way that other institutions cannot. Together the two organisations are rated in the top four cancer centres globally.
The ICR has an outstanding record of achievement dating back more than 100 years. It provided the first convincing evidence that DNA damage is the basic cause of cancer, laying the foundation for the now universally accepted idea that cancer is a genetic disease. Today it leads the world at isolating cancer-related genes and discovering new targeted drugs for personalised cancer treatment.
As a college of the University of London, the ICR provides postgraduate higher education of international distinction. It has charitable status and relies on support from partner organisations, charities and the general public.
The ICR’s mission is to make the discoveries that defeat cancer. For more information visit www.icr.ac.uk
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
The Royal Marsden opened its doors in 1851 as the world’s first hospital dedicated to cancer diagnosis, treatment, research and education.
Today, together with its academic partner, The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), it is the largest and most comprehensive cancer centre in Europe treating over 44,000 patients every year. It is a centre of excellence with an international reputation for groundbreaking research and pioneering the very latest in cancer treatments and technologies. The Royal Marsden also provides community services in the London boroughs of Sutton and Merton and in June 2010, along with the ICR, the Trust launched a new academic partnership with Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Middlesex.
Since 2004, the hospital’s charity, The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, has helped raise over £50 million to build theatres, diagnostic centres, and drug development units.
Prince William became President of The Royal Marsden in 2007, following a long royal connection with the hospital.
For more information, visit www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk
About Cancer Research UK
- Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research
- The charity’s groundbreaking work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives. This work is funded entirely by the public.
- Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival rates in the UK double in the last forty years.
- Cancer Research UK supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses.
- Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to beat cancer.
For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1861 or visit www.cancerresearchuk.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook