Study: Some prostate cancer patients could live longer with extra chemo
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Men with advanced prostate cancer might live longer if given an inexpensive drug alongside androgen-suppression treatment, researchers reported Sunday.
In a study, the extra treatment improved survival in men whose cancer had spread to other areas of the body by 39 percent, NBC News reports. After 36 months, out of 790 men in the study, 136 who underwent androgen suppression (chemical castration) by itself died, compared to 101 who had that hormone treatment along with the chemotherapy medication docetaxel. "This study shows a remarkable and meaningful prolongation in survival for advanced prostate cancer," said Dr. Clifford Hudis, president of the American Society for Clinical Oncology.
Researchers say that moving forward, it's important for doctors to make sure patients are healthy enough to handle the chemotherapy, and for the public to realize this is about survival and not just disease control. Each year, more than 240,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the United States, and almost 30,000 die from it.
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