Prostate Cancer Treatments and Hormone Deprivation - Hormonal Therapy in Treating Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer Treatments and Hormone Deprivation
January 16th, 2009
Forgive me for being somewhat cynical but reading between the lines of this article and without limiting the brilliance of the research itself, one wonders at the reasoning behind anyone undertaking androgen deprivation therapy when knowing, as one should without relying on being told by a physician, that the whole exercise is pointless.

That the treatment will not only be void within two years but also, that in the natural order of things, the cancer WILL return and WILL, in fact, be strengthened by virtue of that treatment. Thus, not only necessitating surgical removal of the testes but also, quite possibly an earlier demise of the patient.

So who benefits from the application of such barbaric treatment? Only the treating hospital and medical specialists, of course.

Regardless of this aspect, the research mentioned in this study must be applauded as another step forward in the clinical understanding of the causes and treatments of cancer.

Why Prostate Cancer Patients Fail Hormone Deprivation Therapy

ScienceDaily (Jan. 15, 2009) — The hormone deprivation therapy that prostate cancer patients often take gives them only a temporary fix, with tumors usually regaining their hold within a couple of years. Now, researchers at Johns Hopkins have discovered critical differences in the hormone receptors on prostate cancer cells in patients who no longer respond to this therapy.