Hormonal treatment and quality of life of prostate cancer patients: new evidence (original) (raw)

Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer Prevention: What Impact Do Related Adverse Events Have on Quality of Life?

Health Outcomes Research in Medicine, 2012

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) constitutes the first-line treatment for patients with locally advanced tumors, recurrent or metastatic disease. Given its widespread use, clinicians should be familiar with common side effects of this treatment. This review focuses on common side effects of ADT and available treatment options to control the side effects. Also, it briefly compares continuous ADT with other therapeutic approaches for androgen deprivation in prostate cancer patients. Similar to hormonal medications, newer non-hormonal therapeutic options including gabapentin and acupuncture have at best moderate effect in controlling hot flashes in patients on ADT. Supervised and/or home exercise programs significantly improve ADT-related fatigue, metabolic/cardiovascular side effects, and cognitive dysfunction. Denosumab, a human monoclonal antibody against RANK-L, is more effective than bisphosphonates in preventing skeletal-related events in patients with metastatic or castrate-resistant prostate cancer and unlike bisphosphonates, it can also reduce the risk of vertebral fractures in men receiving ADT for non-metastatic prostate cancer. Toremifene, a selective estrogen receptor inhibitor, has dual beneficial effects on ADT-related osteoporosis and metabolic dysfunction. Metformin coupled with lifestyle modification is also a well-tolerated treatment for metabolic changes during ADT. While producing similar oncological outcomes, intermittent ADT is associated with higher quality of life in patients under ADT by improving bone health, less metabolic and hematologic complications, and fewer hot flashes and sexual dysfunction events.

Hormonal therapy in metastatic prostate cancer: current perspectives and controversies

Oncology Reviews, 2013

Ever since the introduction of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in prostate cancer, various controversial aspects of hormonal therapy have come to light. There has been tremendous progress in this area, marked by several important developments in the availability of various new androgen-suppressing agents and refinements to the existing therapies. Parallel to these developments, various more debatable aspects have arisen in the use of these therapies with regards to their negative impact on quality of life parameters. Various modifications in these hormonal agents, their doses, and protocols have been tried in different scenarios in order to improve ADT tolerability. As a result, these controversies continue to evolve even with optimal use of the androgen ablation therapy. This review assesses the present status of hormonal therapy in metastatic prostate cancer and specifically deals with those aspects of androgen ablation therapy that are still a subject of debate. In spite of th...

Androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer

2005

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) constitutes the first-line treatment for patients with locally advanced tumors, recurrent or metastatic disease. Given its widespread use, clinicians should be familiar with common side effects of this treatment. This review focuses on common side effects of ADT and available treatment options to control the side effects. Also, it briefly compares continuous ADT with other therapeutic approaches for androgen deprivation in prostate cancer patients. Similar to hormonal medications, newer non-hormonal therapeutic options including gabapentin and acupuncture have at best moderate effect in controlling hot flashes in patients on ADT. Supervised and/or home exercise programs significantly improve ADT-related fatigue, metabolic/cardiovascular side effects, and cognitive dysfunction. Denosumab, a human monoclonal antibody against RANK-L, is more effective than bisphosphonates in preventing skeletal-related events in patients with metastatic or castrate-resistant prostate cancer and unlike bisphosphonates, it can also reduce the risk of vertebral fractures in men receiving ADT for non-metastatic prostate cancer. Toremifene, a selective estrogen receptor inhibitor, has dual beneficial effects on ADT-related osteoporosis and metabolic dysfunction. Metformin coupled with lifestyle modification is also a well-tolerated treatment for metabolic changes during ADT. While producing similar oncological outcomes, intermittent ADT is associated with higher quality of life in patients under ADT by improving bone health, less metabolic and hematologic complications, and fewer hot flashes and sexual dysfunction events.

Endocrine complications of androgen-deprivation therapy in men with prostate cancer

2006

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men. Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) is often employed in the treatment of recurrent and metastatic prostate cancer. Although its use as an adjuvant therapy has resulted in improved survival in a subset of patients, ADT also results in a multitude of endocrine complications. These complications affect quality of life and sense of well-being in these men. Some of the endocrine complications of ADT such as osteoporosis, sexual dysfunction, hot flashes, gynecomastia, and adverse body composition are well-known. Recently, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and metabolic syndrome have emerged as metabolic complications of castration and may be responsible for increased cardiovascular mortality in this population. In this article, we provide a detailed review of the endocrine complications of ADT, touching upon management strategies where applicable.

Adverse effects of androgen deprivation therapy in men with prostate cancer: a focus on metabolic and cardiovascular complications

Asian Journal of Andrology, 2012

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common malignancy in men. Prostate being an androgen responsive tissue, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is used in the management of locally advanced (improves survival) and metastatic (improves pain and quality of life) PCa. Over the past two decades, the use of ADT has significantly increased as it is also being used in patients with localized disease and those experiencing biochemical recurrences, though without any evidence of survival advantage. Hypogonadism resulting from ADT is associated with decreased muscle mass and strength, increased fat mass, sexual dysfunction, vasomotor symptoms, decreased quality of life, anemia and bone loss. Insulin resistance, diabetes and cardiovascular disease have recently been added to the list of these complications. As the majority of men with PCa die of conditions other than their primary malignancy, recognition and management of these adverse effects is paramount. Here we review data evaluating metabolic and cardiovascular complications of ADT.

Promoting Wellness for Patients on Androgen Deprivation Therapy: Why Using Numerous Drugs for Drug Side Effects Should Not Be First-Line Treatment

Urologic Clinics of North America, 2011

The controversy over androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer seems to have shifted over the past decade. The issue of adverse events or side effects now seems to dominate over that of clinical efficacy in several scenarios. 1-3 A wide variety of side effects have been attributed either indirectly or directly to ADT in an acute or chronic situation, with little to no distinction as to whether the risk is novel, minimal, or highly prevalent. 4-7 This article is an update of a 2005 publication, 8 and provides an overview of some side effects attributed to ADT. However, the purpose is to provide evidence questioning the treatment of any, or most, of these side effects with numerous prescription medications that have their own unique toxicity profile. Select patients on ADT, rather than most, qualify for prescription medication to treat side effects. The efficacy of the drugs that are becoming increasingly popular for treating side effects of ADT is also compared with the efficacy of lifestyle changes, over-the-counter dietary supplementation, and some safe generic prescription agents.

An update on androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer

Endocrine Related Cancer, 2010

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with gonadal testosterone depletion is the frontline treatment for advanced prostate cancer. Other hormonal interventions have a role in the treatment of prostate cancer. We sought to examine systematically the evidence for hormonal interventions in prostate cancer, risks of ADT, and interventions that mitigate these risks. Search results for therapeutic studies were focused primarily on randomized controlled clinical trials, and the Jadad scale criteria were used to evaluate the quality of these studies. Four trials of the efficacy of intermittent ADT versus continuous ADT were included. One randomized study analysis and six postrandomization analyses were included on the effects of ADT on cardiovascular mortality. Seven randomized controlled trials of pharmacologic interventions were included for the treatment of metabolic effects due to ADT. One randomized trial of GnRH antagonist versus GnRH agonist was included. Six phase I/II clinical trials ...

Androgen deprivation therapy and estrogen deficiency induced adverse effects in the treatment of prostate cancer

Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases, 2009

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the standard of care for metastatic prostate cancer and is increasingly used to treat asymptomatic patients with prostate-specific antigen recurrence after failed primary therapy. Although effective, ADT is associated with multiple adverse effects, many of which are related to the estrogen deficiency that occurs as a result of treatment. These include increased fracture risk, hot flashes, gynecomastia, serum lipid changes and memory loss. By providing clinicians with a greater awareness of the estrogen deficiency induced adverse effects from ADT, they can proactively intervene on the physical and psychological impact these effects have on patients.

Risks of Major Long-Term Side Effects Associated with Androgen-Deprivation Therapy in Men with Prostate Cancer

Pharmacotherapy, 2018

To examine the risks and compare the occurrences of major long-term side effects (sexual dysfunction, bone fractures, diabetes, cardiovascular morbidity, acute myocardial infarction [MI], and dementia) in patients with prostate cancer who received androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) with those who did not. Propensity score-matched retrospective cohort study using Medicare claims data. National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program-Medicare linked database. A total of 201,797 patients 66 years or older who were diagnosed with any stage of prostate cancer between 1992 and 2009; of these, 94,528 patients received ADT; 107,269 patients did not. We identified receipt of ADT and number of claims for ADT, and ascertained the long-term treatment-related side effects that occurred during 19 years of follow-up, from 1992-2010, from Medicare claims data. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the incidences and hazard ratios (HRs) of newly dev...