Degarelix is the new injectable treatment, Prostate Can...

Degarelix is the new injectable treatment for patients with advanced prostate cancer, a killer of 28,000 men last year. Developed by Ferring Pharmaceuticals, degarelix blocks the hormone testosterone that feeds prostate cancer cells. The number-one priority for prostate cancer patients is to stop the body's testosterone production because the hormone helps the cancer grow. Testosterone is like a running back and degarelix is the defensive line. It shuts testosterone production down—hard and fast. This treatment stimulates an extremely large amount of testosterone production in a few days—an overproduction that causes the body to automatically stop generating testosterone. A major concern with this treatment (called luteinizing hormone releasing hormone agonist) is that some patients with advanced prostate cancer might not survive the initial hormone surge.