Men with prostate cancer received some promising news this week.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania analyzed data from more than 30,000 men being treated for aggressive prostate cancer. Those who received both hormone suppression and radiation therapy halved their chances of dying from prostate cancer over the next seven years.
Men aged 65 to 75 lowered their risk by 57 percent while those over 75 experienced a 49 percent lower likelihood of death compared to man who only received hormone deprivation treatment.
Prior research had shown that the combination of radiation and hormone therapy has benefits for younger men. This is the first comprehensive analysis demonstrating that older men also benefit.
[Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jan. 5, 2015]
This is exciting because up until now, it has been difficult to compare the effectiveness of the various treatments for prostate cancer. Since this can often be a slow-growing cancer, there has also been a degree of fatalism around prostate cancer in older men. However, these were aggressive cancers, and the study demonstrates clearly that utilizing both radiation and testosterone suppression can give older men a much better chance of surviving their prostate cancer.
An accompanying editorial calls out ageism in treating high-risk prostate cancer.
