Use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue in advanced prostatic cancer: 3 years clinical experience.

The relative efficacy of the recently introduced gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues in advanced prostatic cancer, compared with surgical castration, is still debatable. High patient compliance, lack of side effects, and absence of the psychological impact of castration, seem to be the most prominent advantages cited. Our long-term follow-up in a group of 19 prostate cancer patients treated with GnRH analogue also indicated high patient compliance and mild side effects. However, we found a discrepancy between local prostatic regression and general clinical responsiveness, and a poorer therapeutic effect than that obtained with surgical castration. In this group of patients follow-up with either prostatic acid phosphatase or prostatic specific antigen seems promising. We found a high correlation between disease state and prostatic markers. We suggest that GnRH analogues are another addition to the armamentarium for treating advanced prostatic carcinoma, yet are limited in their therapeutic effectiveness.