School of Public Health News

New research published in the July 9, 2008 issue of JAMA, Vol. 300, No. 2, by a team of investigators at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ), shows a lack of survival benefit for older men with localized prostate cancer when administered a common therapy. At focus is a treatment known as androgen deprivation therapy, which shuts off male hormones known to promote growth of the disease. For the past decade, this form of treatment, when used as the only therapy, has become a popular alternative to surgery, radiation or conservative management. CINJ is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

The study, Survival Following Primary Androgen Deprivation Therapy Among Men with Localized Prostate Cancer, found that after hormone therapy was administered for an average of 18 months to men aged 66 or older, the treatment did not show any increase in the overall survival rate compared to conservative management, in which an older man will forego treatment and undergo regular assessment in order to preserve his quality of life. Results also showed that there was a decrease in the prostate cancer-specific survival rate.

The research utilized information from 19,271 men, with a median age of 77, who were diagnosed with clinical stage T1-T2 prostate cancer (cancer that did not spread beyond the prostate) between 1992 and 2002, and had their history followed through 2006. The study team notes that the results could differ for younger men. The data was compiled from the population-based Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and linked Medicare files.

Grace Lu-Yao, PhD, MPH cancer epidemiologist at CINJ, associate professor of environmental and occupational medicine at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and associate professor of Epidemiology at the UMDNJ-School of Public Health, is the lead author. She notes that while previous research has indicated early use of this hormone treatment is appropriate for high-risk patients and for use in conjunction with other therapy, there has not been much study done on the use of androgen deprivation therapy as a sole treatment.


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Press Release
Date: 07-08-08
Name: Michele Fisher
Phone: 732-235-9872
Email: fisherm2@umdnj.edu