Neoadjuvant hormonal therapy for prostate cancer?

Abstract

Hormonal therapy administered before radical prostatectomy to reduce tumour size in patients with prostate cancer is of little value in preventing relapse, and only serves to ‘ confuse the pathology ’, experts said at the 92nd Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association [ New Orleans, US; April 1997 ]. A multicentre study presented at the meeting confirmed this view. Results of the study showed that men receiving ‘neoadjuvant’ hormonal therapy before surgery for early prostate cancer had recurrence rates virtually identical to men who received no pre-surgical therapy.