Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer patients who discover their disease after it has spread out of the prostate gland cannot use many traditional treatments successfully. According to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, hormone therapy is the most common treatment used in these cases to slow the growth of cancer.

Function

• Hormone therapy works to reduce levels of male hormones in the body, which shrinks or slows the growth of prostatic tumors. This therapy is not a cure for prostate cancer.

Potential

• Hormone therapy for prostatic tumors works because testosterone, the main androgen in the male body, fuels the growth of the tumors, so lowering the level of these hormones starves the cancer cells.

Use

• Hormone therapy is used for men who cannot undergo other treatments due to the advancement of their cancer; have undergone other treatments unsuccessfully; are at high risk of cancer recurrence; or are in the process of receiving radiation before surgery.

Types

• Surgical castration (orchiectomy); drugs that lower testosterone levels (luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogs or antagonists); drugs that block the body's use of androgens (anti-androgens); and androgen-suppressing drugs (estrogen) fall into the category of hormone therapies for prostate cancer.

Risks

• The American Cancer Society indicates that hormone therapy can cause reduced libido, impotence, breast growth or tenderness, osteoporosis, loss of muscle mass, loss of mental acuity, weight gain, high cholesterol, fatigue and depression. It also increases a patient's risk of diabetes, heart attack and hypertension.