Chemical or surgical castration for prostate cancer?

Chemical or surgical castration for prostate cancer?

23 Dec 2015

Surgical castration to remove the testicles (orchiectomy) of men with metastatic prostate cancer was associated with lower risks for adverse effects compared with men who underwent medical castration with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy.

Androgen-deprivation therapy, which is achieved through surgical or medical castration, has been a cornerstone in the management of metastatic prostate cancer for the past 50 years. But the use of bilateral orchiectomy has been nearly eliminated in the U.S. because of cosmetic and psychological concerns.

Comparing the side effects of the two methods

Quoc-Dien Trinh, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and coauthors compared adverse effects of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy and bilateral orchiectomy in 3,295 men with metastatic prostate cancer (66 or older) between 1995 and 2009. The authors analyzed six major adverse effects, which were picked based on their effect on a patient's quality of life, the potential for increased health care costs, and on a previously described association with Androgen-deprivation therapy use. The six adverse effects were:

  • any fractures,
  • peripheral artery disease,
  • venous thromboembolism,
  • cardiac-related complications,
  • diabetes and
  • Cognitive disorders.

Of the 3,295 men, 87% (n=2,866) were treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy and 13% (n=429) were treated with orchiectomy. The overall three-year survival was 46% for gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy treatment and 39% for orchiectomy.

CareAcross-mature-man

Which one of the two methods is more dangerous?

The study indicates surgical castration through orchiectomy was associated with lower risks of any fractures, peripheral artery disease and cardiac-related complications compared with medical castration with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy. No statistically significant difference was found between orchiectomy and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy for diabetes and cognitive disorders.

Men treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy for 35 months or more were at the greatest risk of experiencing any fracture, peripheral artery disease, venous thromboembolism, cardiac-related complications and diabetes, according to the results.

The authors note limitations to the study, primarily its retrospective design which relies on historical data. "In some patients who need permanent androgen suppression, surgical castration may represent a suitable alternative to gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist therapy. However, other considerations must be contemplated when deciding between medical or surgical castration (i.e., young age, intermittent ADT)," the study concludes.

 

Source: Science Daily

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