Importance of continued testicular suppression in hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

PURPOSE

Patients in whom prostate cancer progresses despite testicular androgen ablation are generally said to have cancers that have become resistant to hormonal maneuvers. If androgen suppression has been pharmacologic, this therapy is often stopped before consideration of other systemic treatments. This exploratory study sought clinical correlates of experimental evidence that there may be substantial acceleration of tumor growth after cessation of androgen suppression.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective multivariate analysis was performed on survival data for 341 patients treated on four clinical trials of secondary therapy for hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Factors included in the model were recent weight loss, age, performance status, disease site (soft tissue v bone-dominant), prior radiotherapy, and continued androgen suppression v discontinued exogenous endocrine therapy.

RESULTS

Recent weight loss, age, performance status, and disease site were important prognostic factors for survival duration in hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Correcting for these factors, continued testicular androgen suppression was also an important predictor of survival duration in all data sets examined.

CONCLUSION

This retrospective study showed a modest advantage in survival duration for men with hormone-refractory prostate cancer who continued to receive testicular androgen suppression. The hypothesis that continued hormonal maneuvers can still affect survival in this group warrants examination in prospective trials.