Page 1 - Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Urological Health
Hormone therapy
for prostate cancer
Hormone therapy for prostate cancer involves removing or blocking the male hormone
to help control the disease.
nvestigations directed by your urologist indicate
Ithat you have prostate cancer, an abnormal
growth of cells originating in the prostate gland.
These abnormal cells may spill out of the prostate
into surrounding tissues or spread to other parts of
the body, most often into lymph nodes or bones.
After consideration of various factors, your urologist
is recommending hormone therapy to control your
prostate cancer in an effort to relieve or prevent
symptoms and maximize life expectancy.
Hormones are natural chemical messengers produced
by various glands to control body functions. The
testicles produce testosterone which is the major male
sex hormone (androgen). The release of testosterone is
controlled by another hormone produced in the brain
called luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH).
Small amounts of additional androgens are produced
in the adrenal glands located above each kidney.
brain hypothalamus
LHRH
pituitary
adrenal
gland LH
adrenal
androgens
prostate
testosterone
Roula Drossis usual activities within a few weeks.
testicles
These androgens affect many body processes
including hair growth, muscle and bone health and
sexual function. The prostate gland requires male
hormones for normal growth and function. Similarly,
prostate cancer cell growth is stimulated or fuelled
by androgens. When androgens are removed or
blocked, many of the cancer cells die off while others
become dormant. Hormone therapy affects prostate
cancer cells wherever they are, even those spread
outside of the prostate.
Hormone therapy is used most often for men with
advanced prostate cancer. This may include
recurrent prostate cancer after radiation or surgery.
Hormone therapy is not a cure for prostate cancer,
but a form of control which, in many cases, may last
for years. In time, the cancer cells may evolve and
become capable of growing without androgens
(castrate resistant prostate cancer). Your hormone
therapy may then be adjusted by changing
medications or other forms of treatment may be
recommended.
In some cases of early prostate cancer, hormone
therapy may be used in combination with other
forms of potentially curative treatment (adjuvant
hormone therapy). Hormone therapy can be given
in combination with radiation treatment in some
patients in order to increase its effectiveness. A similar
approach is used by some urologists prior to surgical
removal of the prostate.
Types of hormone therapy
Hormonal control of prostate cancer can be
accomplished in several ways. Removal of the
testicles (orchiectomy), eliminates the source of most
of the male hormones. This minor surgical procedure,
usually performed in the hospital on an outpatient
basis, involves removal of the testicles through a small
incision in the scrotal sac. There is usually little pain
post-operatively and the risk of infection, swelling or
bruising is small. Most men are able to resume their
Some men prefer to have hormone production of
the testicles suppressed rather than having them
removed. This can be accomplished with a drug
which specifically blocks the brain’s hormonal
control of testosterone production by the testicles.
This medication, an LHRH agonist, is administered by
injection at regular intervals (usually every three to
six months). It is important to receive these injections
according to the schedule recommended by your
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