What Are the Treatments for Metastasized Prostate Cancer?

Metastasized prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate gland that has spread to other areas of the body, such as bones or other organs. There are many treatment options for metastatic prostate cancer, all of which focus on slowing the cancer's growth and relieving pain and other symptoms.

Hormone Therapy

• Because prostate tumors frequently rely on male hormones (testosterone), hormone therapy focuses on blocking testosterone in the body with special drugs called antiandrogens. Doctors will use the drugs either alone or in combination with radiation therapy.

Radiation therapy

• With radiation therapy, Doctors use focused beams of radiation to try to shrink the tumor and reduce pain. Although doctors sometimes use implantable radioactive seeds (called brachytherapy) to treat prostate cancer, they are not helpful in the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer.

Chemotherapy

• Doctors will try to shrink the growth of the cancer with drugs that stop the growth of cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs for metastatic prostate cancer usually include combination "cocktails" of drugs, such as prednisone and docetaxel.

Surgery

• Although doctors usually will not propose surgery to treat cancer that has spread to multiple areas of the body, there are some surgical procedures that can help with metastatic prostate cancer. Surgical removal of the testicles will stop the body from producing the hormones that feed the tumor; occasionally doctors will cut away parts of the tumor to relieve pain or stop blockage of the urethra.

Palliative care

• Metastatic prostate cancer is sometimes untreatable. In these cases, doctors will focus on managing a patient's pain and helping improve quality of life as much as possible. Working with psychologists or setting up services through hospice occasionally is also part of this treatment.