Prostrate Cancer: Advanced Prostate Cancer Treatment

By Linda Hinkle

There are several treatment options for men with advanced prostate cancer. The choice of treatment depends on how far advanced the cancer is, the patient's age and his personal preferences. Prostate cancer is considered to be advanced when it has spread (metastasized) beyond the prostate gland to other areas of the body. There is no cure for advanced prostate cancer, but treatments can help slow its growth, minimize spreading and ease symptoms.

Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy is the most commonly used treatment for advanced prostate cancer. In order to grow, prostate cancer cells must have a supply of male hormones, such as testosterone. Hormone therapy reduces the body's production of testosterone which in turn causes a slow down in cancer cell growth. There are two ways to decrease the body's production of testosterone: surgical removal of the testicles which produce it and drugs that control or block its action. Most men choose drug therapy over surgery.

Estrogen Therapy
Another form of hormone therapy involves use of the female hormone estrogen, or one similar to it. Female hormones cause the testicles to produce less testosterone. Estrogen therapy was once considered the standard treatment for prostate cancer but it is not widely used today. It is typically reserved for patients who cannot undergo surgery or to help manage pain.

Combined Hormonal Approach
Many men choose a combination of treatments to manage advanced prostate cancer. This combined hormonal approach uses radiation therapy in conjunction with hormone therapy. Using this combination of treatments may help ease symptoms and slow the growth of the cancer.

Chemotherapy
Although hormone therapy slows the growth of prostate cancer for a period of time, eventually the cancer starts to grow again---usually after one to two years. When this happens, the disease is called hormone-resistant prostate cancer. Chemotherapy is one treatment option for this stage of the cancer. Chemotherapy uses powerful drugs that travel throughout the body to fight and kill cancer cells. Some chemotherapy drugs are taken by mouth while others are injected directly into a vein. Chemotherapy is generally reserved for advanced prostate cancer that no longer responds to hormonal therapy or that has spread beyond the prostate gland.

Potential
Much research is being done to develop improved treatments for prostate cancer. One of the latest treatments being tested is the use of vaccines to boost the body's immune response to prostate cancer cells. Several of these vaccines are currently being tested in clinical trials. These vaccines, unlike those for infections like mumps and measles, are intended to treat, not prevent, prostate cancer. Vaccines for prostate cancer are only available in clinical trials.

Monoclonal antibodies are also being studied for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. These antibodies are manmade to target specific molecules in prostate cancer cells. They are being tested in clinical trials to treat and prevent advanced prostate cancer that has metastasized to the bones.