Results of a major trial of hormone therapy on men with locally advanced prostate cancer announced today were a significant development and would be welcomed by patients and oncologists world-wide, according to The Cancer Council Australia.
The Cancer Council’s Chief Executive Officer, Professor Alan Coates, said the trial involving Australian and New Zealand patients was the largest of its type in the world and would help set the standard for treatment of locally advanced prostate cancer.
Run by the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group, the trial tested a combination of hormone therapy and radiotherapy on 800 volunteers from Australia and New Zealand with inoperable prostate cancer.
“Using this combination of therapies resulted in a 60 per cent decline in the return of prostate cancer after radiotherapy, a 33 per cent reduction in the spread of cancer to other parts of the body and a 40 per cent reduction in deaths,” Professor Coates said.
“These are major findings which will add substantially to the evidence base for treatment of men with this disease. The reduction in spread of the disease is particularly important, as metastases can cause greater patient suffering, potential hospitalisation and make treatment far more complicated and costly.”
According to Professor Coates the benefits of hormone therapy have been recognised since the late 1980s, but the challenge has been to find the right combination to work effectively with radiotherapy. “Using goserelin and flutamide over a six month period prior to and during radiotherapy has proven to be highly effective,” he said. “Being able to combine these hormone therapies in conjunction with radiotherapy over a relatively short period provides an effective treatment with potentially fewer side-effects.”