Hormone Therapy Treatment - Help For Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer hormone therapy treatment is also known as androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). When dealing with prostate cancer and ways to treat it, you want to concentrate on reducing the levels of male hormones in the body. These hormones include testosterone and dihydrotestoterone. While not directly causing prostate cancer, the hormones stimulate the malignant cells to grow and multiply. Research has shown that by reducing the hormones that are produced by the testicles prostate cancer has shrunk in the gland or has slowed down in its growth.

Only the doctor can decide who will benefit the most from hormone therapy treatment. Patients who are not able to have prostate surgery or radiation treatment because the cancer has spread beyond the confines of the prostate are good candidates for hormone treatment therapy. Prostate cancer hormone therapy treatment can be used in addition to radiation therapy and also if there has been a re occurrence of the cancer.

Types of prostate cancer hormone therapy treatment

Orchiectomy - surgical castration - is actually a form of hormone therapy because by surgically removing the testicles you are removing the hormones that cause the stimulation of cancerous cell growth. This usually helps slow the growth and sometimes actually shrink the cancer. This procedure is done as outpatient surgery and for those patients who are concerned over how they will look after the surgery, artificial sacs that look and feel like natural testicles can be inserted into the scrotum as replacements. Side effects of this procedure include but are not limited to: reduced or absent libido and impotence; hot flashes; anaemia; loss of muscle mass; weight gain; fatigue; and depression. All of these side effects can be prevented and treated.

LHRH (luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone) analogs are an option over orchiectomy. Most men opt for this treatment even though it costs more and requires more frequent visits to the doctor. LHRH analogs lower testosterone levels without the need to remove the testicles. The analogs are implanted beneath the skin monthly or in multiple month doses. Popular medications include Lupron, Viadur, Eligard, Zoladex, and Trelstar. Hot flashes, osteoporosis, and side effects similar to those found with the surgical castration can be found in patients receiving these treatments. Occasionally a patient's testosterone levels will flare when these treatments are started and can be counteracted by anti-androgen medication.

LHRH antagonists, such as Plenaxis, work like the LHRH analogs, but they seem to work faster and do not cause the testosterone levels to increase and cause the tumour to suddenly grow. Less than 5% of patients have an allergic reaction to the use of the antagonists and it has been approved for use in men whose prostate cancer has advanced and cannot take other treatment and refuse surgery. The side effects are the same and this hormone therapy is administered in the doctor's office as injections in the buttocks.

Anti-androgens block the body's ability to respond to androgens. Androgens are also produced by the adrenal glands, although not in the same amount as what is produced by the testicles. This treatment is administered in the form of pills and is commonly combined with the other treatments. Doctors are actually testing the use of just anti-androgens in treating prostate cancer. Diarrhea, nausea, liver problems and tiredness are some of the side effects of the medication.

Controversies in hormone treatment therapy

As with all medical treatments and medication uses, there are some controversies surrounding prostate cancer hormone treatment therapy. There is a question as to the benefits of starting hormone therapy as soon as the cancer is detected or waiting until there is more clinical proof that it helps in early stages. Not all doctors believe in using the hormones continuously, citing that the patient's body could become resistant to the treatment.

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Success with Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Hormone therapy is known as one of the treatments for prostate cancer. We have heard success stories with hormone therapy for prostate cancer patients from Internet and medical publications. Here we discuss why hormone therapy can be applied to treat prostate cancer. The prostrate gland is found near the base of the urethra.

This is the tube that carries urine from the bladder out through the penis. The front end of the prostrate gland surrounds the urethra and the rear part of the gland presses against the rectum. The prostrate gland is found in the males and is susceptible to tumor growths. These tumors can be benign or malignant. Malignant means that the tumor is cancerous and life threatening.

Faulty Genes Put Right With Hormones
Having a cancerous prostrate tumor is no cause for alarm because if the tumor is diagnosed well in advance, for which there are many symptoms the layman can understand, the prostrate gland can be surgically removed along with the tumor. Thus, one can prevent the spread of the tumor to other parts of the body through the blood and lymphatic system.

It is very rare to find a patient under fifty to have prostrate cancer. The patient can become weary of a tumor on the prostrate gland if he finds the following symptoms: dribbling before or after urinating, feeling that the urinary bladder is never empty completely, discomfort or pain while urinating and passing of blood sometimes while urinating, false calls or frequently wanting to urinate without actually urinating.

Getting Rid Of the Gland

Apart from having the prostrate removed surgically, there are some hormone treatments for prostrate cancer as well. Some of these hormone treatments have known to have produced dramatic results. But, then it is the stage of the disease as well as the age of the person who is treated that also counts.

Doctors all over the world have known for a long time now that cancer can be treated with hormones as prostrate cancer has been known to be hormone or gene related. For instance, men who have had prostrate cancer in the family are more likely to contract the disease that men who have no family history of prostrate cancer.

Even men with the history of breast cancer in the family run the risk of developing prostrate cancer. This led to research on treating cancer with hormones. Research has shown that men live longer with prostrate cancer if it is treated with hormone therapy along with radiation treatment.

The standard hormone treatment is for three years but in many cases dramatic results have come about within six months of the treatment. Researchers from Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital discovered that men treated with six months of androgen suppression therapy in addition to radiation improved faster and better than men treated with only radiation.

Prostate cancer can be treated. Click here for more information on hormone therapy for prostate cancer. Read also other options for prostate cancer treatment here. We provide facts and information about prostate cancer for free.

Prostate Cancer And Hormone Treatment

Prostate cancer and hormone treatment to address this disease is one approach some have taken. The idea with this type of treatment is to decrease the production of testosterone that could stimulate the cancerous prostatic cells.

These cancerous prostatic cells cause the disease to worsen. And with its reaction to the male androgenic hormone – testosterone – the spread of these cancer cells will be hastened. Prostate cancer and hormone treatment for this disease, looks at this angle of testosterone production and the stimulating effect of testosterone on the cancerous cells.

Prostate cancer and hormone treatment to control this disease means to deprive the cancerous cells of testosterone either by the use of medications or by surgical removal of the testes. If one opts for the latter, he will undergo orchiectomy or commonly called castration. With this, control of prostate cancer and hormone treatment effectiveness is hoped upon. The testes is after all the main source of the production of testosterone. Without the hormone, the cancerous cells will have no stimulus to act upon.

The other way to approach the control of prostate cancer and hormone treatment as a means to do so - as was mentioned earlier, is by way of medication. One may take what is called the anti-androgenic drugs that will block the effects of testosterone over the prostate. Another drug called the LH-RH agonists could also be taken, which would block the release of LH-RH signal from the brain. LH-RH (luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone) will normally travel from the brain to the testes to signal it to produce more testosterone. Blocking this will help control the production of testosterone.

The method of controlling prostate cancer and hormone treatment have some side effects. These include hot flashes, weight gain, vomiting, fertility loss, loss of sexual drive, and impotence. Some may be temporary, but others are of permanent nature.

Hormone treatment may not be effective in all cases. There are tumors that are called androgen-independent prostate cancers – and thus, these thrive even without testosterone. Also, these hormone treatments of prostate cancer are usually applied to those who already have prostate cancer with local spread.

This procedure is also applicable for those who refuse to undergo surgical procedures as radical prostatectomy, which removes the entire prostate gland. If one may not wish to undergo radiation treatment, either by means of radioactive seed implants or by external radiation process – then hormone treatment may be the way to go.

Hormonal treatment for your prostate cancer have some degree of effectiveness in controlling the cancer. And like any other form of treatment, it has side effects that go with it. In the end, it is all about the decision you, your love-ones, and your doctor has come up with, that makes the prostate cancer solution acceptable.

Milos Pesic is an expert in the field of Prostate Cancer and runs a highly popular and comprehensive Prostate Cancer web site. For more articles and resources on Prostate Cancer related topics, treatment options and much more visit his site at:
=>http://prostate.need-to-know.net/