Finasteride prevents or delays the appearance of prostate cancer, but this possible benefit and a reduced risk of urinary problems must be weighed against sexual side effects and the increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer.
Long-term combination therapy with doxazosin and finasteride was safe and reduced the risk of overall clinical progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia significantly more than did treatment with either drug alone. Combination therapy and finasteride alone reduced the long-term risk of acute urinary retention and the need for invasive therapy.
Purpose
Extraprostatic disease will be manifest in one third of men after radical prostatectomy. We present long-term followup of a randomized clinical trial of radiotherapy to reduce risk of subsequent metastatic disease and death.
Materials and Methods
431 men with pT3N0M0 prostate cancer were randomized to 60–64 Gy adjuvant radiotherapy or observation. The primary study endpoint was metastasis-free survival.
Results
Of 425 eligible men, 211 were randomized to observation and 214 to adjuvant radiation. Of those receiving observation, 70 ultimately received radiotherapy. Metastatic-free survival was significantly less with radiotherapy (93 events out of 214 on the RT arm, 114 events out of 211 on observation, Hazard Ratio [HR] 0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.54, 0.94; p=0.016). Survival was improved significantly with adjuvant radiation (88 deaths out of 214 on the RT arm, 110 deaths out of 211 on observation HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.55,0.96; p=0.023).
Conclusions
Adjuvant radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for a man with pT3N0M0 prostate cancer significantly reduces the risk of metastasis and increases survival.
In men who had undergone radical prostatectomy for pathologically advanced prostate cancer, adjuvant radiotherapy resulted in significantly reduced risk of PSA relapse and disease recurrence, although the improvements in metastasis-free survival and overall survival were not statistically significant. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00394511.
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