To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu

Title: Eight-Month Neoadjuvant Hormonal Therapy Not Superior to 3 Months for Decreasing PSA Recurrence: Presented at AUA

"Eight-Month Neoadjuvant Hormonal Therapy Not Superior to 3 Months for Decreasing PSA Recurrence: Presented at AUA"

By Jill Stein CHICAGO, IL -- April 28, 2003 -- Patients with prostate cancer who receive an 8-month or 3-month course of neoadjuvant hormonal therapy before radical prostatectomy appear to have similar rates of recurrence of high prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Researchers led by Dr. Martin Gleave with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver evaluated a cohort of men with clinically documented prostate cancer who were randomized to treatment with leuprolide 7.5 mg intramuscularly per month plus oral flutamide 250 mg 3 times daily for 3 or 8 months before undergoing radical prostatectomy. Dr. Gleave presented the results of a phase III trial on behalf of the Canadian Uro-Oncology Group here April 27th at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association. The study's primary end point was disease-free survival, defined as a PSA level less than 0.4 ng/mL at 36 months. The investigators previously reported that the study found that presurgery PSA nadir levels (0.052 ng/mL versus 0.12 ng/mL, P<0.001) and positive margin rates (12% versus 23%, P=0.0105) were lower in the 8-month group than in the 3-month group. The latest analysis also showed that there were no significant differences in PSA recurrence rates at 4 years postsurgery. The overall PSA recurrence rates in 502 evaluable patients were 23.6% in the 8-month and 25.4% in the 3-month group (P=0.6398 by chi-square and P=0.0511 by log-rank test). Subgroup analysis suggested reduced PSA recurrence in intermediate-risk patients only in high-volume centers. Dr. Gleave said that future trials should evaluate the role of adjuvant versus neoadjuvant regimens in this setting. The study was funded by Abbott Canada and TAP Pharmaceuticals. [Study title: Randomized Comparative Study of 3 vs 8 Months of Neoadjuvant Hormonal Therapy Prior to Radical Prostatectomy: 3 Year PSA Recurrence Rates. Abstract 690]

Copyright © 2009 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content.