Supportive care is not the only option in prostate cancer patients resistant to hormone therapy: the argument against.
Hormone-resistant prostate cancer patients are elderly, frail and in pain. They have a median survival of 6 months. There is no convincing evidence from controlled trials that anything we do will increase life expectancy. Any attempt to do so with currently available agents may either kill them earlier or decrease the quality of the short life left to them. The alternatives for management include the simple, non-toxic, supportive measures of better analgesic use, antiandrogen withdrawal, external beam radiation and steroids, which can produce significant symptomatic improvement. There is little evidence that the benefits of more aggressive therapy exceed those achieved with supportive care.
Jewett
M A
MA
Division of Urology, University of Toronto, Ont., Canada.
Khakpour
G
G
Moore
M J
MJ
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010166:Palliative Care; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000097:blood*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy; D011788:Quality of Life; D018570:Risk Assessment
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen