F. Abbas et Pt. Scardino, WHY NEOADJUVANT ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION PRIOR TO RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY IS UNNECESSARY, Urologic clinics of North America, 23(4), 1996, pp. 587
Neoadjuvant hormonal therapy (NHT) prior to radical prostatectomy has
been advocated for downstaging of tumors and reducing the rates of pos
itive surgical margins with the expectation that disease-free survival
will be improved. Despite the apparent favorable impact on pathologic
findings, randomized trials to date show no benefit of NHT in prostat
e-specific antigen progression rates. Consequently, there is serious c
oncern about the validity and biologic significance of the apparent do
wnstaging and decreased rate of positive margins, and no evidence exis
ts that there is improved time to progression and survival; therefore,
the authors do not recommend NHT outside of a clinical trial.