COMBINATION TREATMENT IN M1 PROSTATE-CANCER

The treatment of advanced prostate cancer is based on hormone manipula tion to eliminate the trophic effect of testosterone on sensitive andr ogen tissue of the tumor. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of the partial androgen blockage versus the complete androgen blockage. O ne hundred, twenty-two patients were entered in this study and randoml y were treated with buserelin alone or with buserelin and flutamide. T he group that received buserelin was given cyproterone acetate (200 mg /day) during first 3 weeks of treatment to avoid ''flare-up'' During t he follow-up (range 0-244+/-1 weeks), we evaluated 59 patients (61.4%) that had positive response and 37 patients (38.6%) that showed progre ssive disease: There were no statistically significant differences bet ween the two treatment groups, not even in the evaluation of median ti me to response and of median time to treatment failure. In conclusion, the results emphasize that total androgenic blockage is as effective as a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analog used alone.