Prostate cancer: Making the switch from LHRH antagonist to LHRH agonist

摘要

For patients with prostate cancer, the sequential administration of an LHRH antagonist followed by an LHRH agonist has the potential to achieve a testosterone suppression that more closely mimics physiological conditions than conventional treatment regimens. It could eliminate, or significantly reduce, the testosterone surge that accompanies standard LHRH agonist therapy and obviate the need for concomitant antiandrogen therapy. This theory was recently tested in a study by Garnick and Mottet, in which 176 patients-the majority of whom had localized prostate cancer and a PSA level less than 10 ng/ml-were treated initially with the first-generation LHRH antagonist abarelix.