Boston—A long-term follow up of previous research indicates that men with comorbidities receiving a combination of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and radiation therapy (RT) for prostate cancer had reduced survival compared to patients receiving RT alone. Background information in the research letter, published recently in the Journal of the American Medicine Association, notes that the ADT/RT combination is the standard of care to prolong survival in men with unfavorable-risk prostate cancer, despite a black box warning about increased risk for nonfatal cardiovascular events in ADT-treated prostate cancers. The study team led by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital compared overall survival and cause of death in a group of 206 men with unfavorable risk prostate cancer. After a median follow up of more than 16 years, researchers found that, while overall survival did not differ between those receiving the combination therapy or RT alone, a subset of men whose comorbidity included prior heart attack had shorter survival because of higher rates of fatal heart attacks with ADT use.
Published October 7, 2015
