For Release: October 25, 1998
Contact: Michael J. Bernstein, (703) 648-8910, [email protected]
Hormonal Treatment Combined with Radiation Effective in Treating Prostate Cancer, RTOG Study Finds
Using androgen (male hormone) suppression in addition to radiation therapy can significantly improve local control of prostate cancer and reduce the incidence of metastatic spread, a Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) study reports.
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) held October 25-29 in Phoenix, AZ.
While it had been known that hormonal manipulation could be effective in the treatment for prostate cancer, its value as an adjuvant to radiation therapy and surgery had been questioned in the past, according to Miljenko V. Pilepich, M.D., principal investigator for the RTOG study.
Dr. Pilepich, director of the Department of Radiation Oncology, St. Joseph Mercy Health System, Ann Arbor, MI, says that after five years of follow-up, 22 percent of the prostate cancer patients receiving hormonal and radiation therapy had the cancer recur locally compared to a 35 percent failure rate with those that did not have hormonal therapy. The corresponding numbers at eight years were 31 percent and 41 percent.
In the study, patients with locally advanced prostate cancer were given hormonal agents (flutamide and lupron) prior to and during radiation therapy. The agents deprived the tumor of male hormones. A total of 471 patients were included in the randomized clinical trial.
"In addition to good local control," Dr. Pilepich said, " there was a statistically significant reduction in the incidence of metastases and tumor progression. Hormonal
management has been associated with an improvement in survival, but this trend has not yet reached a statistically significant level."
The RTOG is a federally funded cancer clinical trials cooperative group, which carries out multi-disciplinary research nationwide. It is a major clinical research component of the American College of Radiology.
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