BMJ 2015;350:h84 doi: 10.1136/bmj.h84 (Published 8 January 2015)
Page 1 of 1
Research News
RESEARCH NEWS Adding radiotherapy to hormone treatment improves survival in older men with prostate cancer Susan Mayor London
Giving radiotherapy in addition to hormone therapy improves survival in older men with locally advanced prostate cancer when compared with the commonly used approach of using only hormonal treatment in this age group, an analysis of US data has shown.
Researchers compared the effectiveness of androgen deprivation therapy and radiotherapy with that of hormonal treatment alone in 31 541 men who had had prostate cancer diagnosed from 1995 to 2007 and been followed up until 2009 in the SEER-Medicare database, which brings together clinical and healthcare information on all cancer patients covered by Medicare.1
deprivation therapy alone, warned Justin Bekelman, the lead author and assistant professor of radiation oncology at Perelman School of Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
“Failure to use effective treatments for older patients with cancer is a healthcare quality concern. Radiation plus hormone therapy is such a treatment for men with aggressive prostate cancers,” he said. “Patients and their physicians should carefully discuss curative treatment options for prostate cancer and reduce the use of hormone therapy alone.”
The new analysis looked at three groups of patients: men aged 65-75, reflecting the age group typically included in clinical trials; older men aged over 75 with locally advanced prostate cancer; and men aged 65 and over with high risk prostate cancer detected by screening.
Results showed that the combination of radiotherapy and hormone treatment halved the risk of death from prostate cancer from 9.8% (95% confidence interval 9.1% to 10.5%) to 5.0% (4.4% to 5.6%) at a seven year follow-up in men aged 76-85. This was very similar to the relative reduction in deaths from prostate cancer of 57% seen in younger men aged 65-75, from 9.8% (8.9% to 10.7%) to 4.4% (3.9% to 4.9%) with combination therapy. Men with screen detected cancers shared the same benefit. Studies have shown that 40% of men aged 75 and older with locally advanced prostate cancer are treated with androgen
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1
Bekelman JE, Mitra N, Handorf EA, Uzzo RG, Hahn SA, Polsky D, et al. Effectiveness of androgen deprivation therapy and radiotherapy for older men with locally advanced prostate cancer. J Clin Oncol 2015; doi:10.1200/JCO.2014.57.2743.
Cite this as: BMJ 2015;350:h84 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2015
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
Page 1 of 1
Research News
RESEARCH NEWS Adding radiotherapy to hormone treatment improves survival in older men with prostate cancer Susan Mayor London
Giving radiotherapy in addition to hormone therapy improves survival in older men with locally advanced prostate cancer when compared with the commonly used approach of using only hormonal treatment in this age group, an analysis of US data has shown.
Researchers compared the effectiveness of androgen deprivation therapy and radiotherapy with that of hormonal treatment alone in 31 541 men who had had prostate cancer diagnosed from 1995 to 2007 and been followed up until 2009 in the SEER-Medicare database, which brings together clinical and healthcare information on all cancer patients covered by Medicare.1
deprivation therapy alone, warned Justin Bekelman, the lead author and assistant professor of radiation oncology at Perelman School of Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA.
“Failure to use effective treatments for older patients with cancer is a healthcare quality concern. Radiation plus hormone therapy is such a treatment for men with aggressive prostate cancers,” he said. “Patients and their physicians should carefully discuss curative treatment options for prostate cancer and reduce the use of hormone therapy alone.”
The new analysis looked at three groups of patients: men aged 65-75, reflecting the age group typically included in clinical trials; older men aged over 75 with locally advanced prostate cancer; and men aged 65 and over with high risk prostate cancer detected by screening.
Results showed that the combination of radiotherapy and hormone treatment halved the risk of death from prostate cancer from 9.8% (95% confidence interval 9.1% to 10.5%) to 5.0% (4.4% to 5.6%) at a seven year follow-up in men aged 76-85. This was very similar to the relative reduction in deaths from prostate cancer of 57% seen in younger men aged 65-75, from 9.8% (8.9% to 10.7%) to 4.4% (3.9% to 4.9%) with combination therapy. Men with screen detected cancers shared the same benefit. Studies have shown that 40% of men aged 75 and older with locally advanced prostate cancer are treated with androgen
For personal use only: See rights and reprints http://www.bmj.com/permissions
1
Bekelman JE, Mitra N, Handorf EA, Uzzo RG, Hahn SA, Polsky D, et al. Effectiveness of androgen deprivation therapy and radiotherapy for older men with locally advanced prostate cancer. J Clin Oncol 2015; doi:10.1200/JCO.2014.57.2743.
Cite this as: BMJ 2015;350:h84 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2015
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
