Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) As Used In Cancer Treatment

Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) Prostate cancer is a type of cancer that has been a trouble in life of very many men for quite a long time. In men it is the type of cancer that has caused many deaths in men. It is as scary to many as breast cancer is to women. The best way to deal with prostate cancer is to great it before it spreads beyond the prostate. As known when prostate cancer metastasizes it becomes very difficult for it to be treated even with the known conventional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. There is need to reduce the chances of this disease reoccurring after treatments. It is common for progression of prostate cancer tumors even after radiation therapy or surgery. Therefore other ways that can be utilized by doctors in curbing the dangers of metastatic cancers are being developed to make prostate cancer containable. One of the alternatives that are used for prostate cancer treatment is the Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for cancer treatment is also referred to as hormone therapy. Scientists have proved that prostate cancer cells cannot grow without androgens. They can neither survive without these androgens and therefore this presents an avenue through which this disease can be fought. Testosterone and other male hormones play a vital role in the growth and survival of prostate cancers and therefore if their activities can be inhibited then the growth of prostate cancers can be reduced greatly. Androgen is a term used to refer to all male hormones including testosterone which is the most dominant male hormone. Androgen deprivation therapy aims at reducing the amounts of androgens in the body of a male. When the male hormones are reduced the growth of cancer cells become slowed which helps in reducing the effects of prostate cancer and prevent metastasis. Reducing androgens also helps in shrinking the prostate cancer tumors.

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) can be used with other conventional cancer treatment methods like chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is said to be very effective when used with these treatment methods and can be utilized in cases in where there is high possibility of prostate cancer returning. In other cases radiation therapy or surgery may not be able to clear all the cancerous cells in the prostate therefore Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) can be used to tame the remaining tumors so that they do not cause adverse effects on the patients who may still be undergoing treatment.

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has also been said to be very effective in treating prostate cancer that has metastasized and hence cannot be treated with conventional methods like radiation therapy and surgery. In this scenario it may not completely do away with the disease but it will help reduce pain in the patients as well as help them live longer. Androgen deprivation therapy is also very effective in suppressing the prostate cancer cells that are reflected on the lower levels of prostate- specific antigen (PSA).

Apart from its beneficial complementary use alongside conventional cancer treatment methods like radiation therapy and surgery, Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) can also be used as an alternative prostate cancer treatment replacing surgery and radiation therapy. This is possible since the prostate cancer cells can’t survive without these androgens.

How to reduce Androgens

Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) There are some medicines that can be taken to reduce the androgens in the body of males. This is the most used method of reducing androids. There is also another method that can be used to reduce the androgens in the body of men. This is the removal of the testicles surgically. However this method is the least used. It is referred to as orchiectomy. Testicles is where more than 90% of the male hormones are made so removing the testicles can be the shortest way to reduce the male hormones but it is rarely used since it is permanent. The testicles can never be replanted after surgery.

Here are some of the drugs that are used in reducing the androgens in men

Antiandrogens– Antiandrogens help block the body’s supply of testosterone. There are steroidal antiandrogens and non-steroidal antiandrogens. The steroidal antiandrogens include megestrol while the non-steroidal antiandrogens include bicalutamide, cyproterone, flutamide, and nilutamide. The antiandrogens drugs sometimes are used along with LH-RH agonists for effectiveness.

LH-RH agonists and GnRH agonists– These drugs are effective in reducing androgens since they stop the body from making testosterone. They include goserelin, histrelin , leuprolide, and triptorelin.

GnRH antagonists– These drugs work well in reducing androgen since they stop the body from making testosterone. They work more instantly and they also mitigate the side effects that are caused by GnRH agonists. An example of GnRH antagonist is degarelix.

Androgen inhibitors-These drugs work by inhibiting the enzymes that the body requires to continue making the androgens especially testosterone. Examples of androgen inhibitors include; ketoconazole and abiraterone.

In some cases the LH-RH agonist and antiandrogens can be used at the same time complementarily to fight prostate cancer. In this case it is known as combined androgen blockade (CAB). It has been proved that men who undergo combined androgen blockade that flutamide or nilutamide lives much longer than men who undergo androgen deprivation therapy.

Side effects of androgen deprivation therapy

One of the major side effects of this therapy is the increased risk of heart related mortality. Other side effects includes; osteoporosis, higher levels of fats in blood, low muscle mass and increased body mass, low red blood cell count, increased risk to diabetes.

Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an experienced integrative cancer doctor that has helped many cancer patients in their fight against the disease. She has worked hard not only in treating the disease but also in availing informational support to cancer patients at Awaremed which has become a place called home for many cancer patients. Call on her now and get help on cancer.