Viadur is indicated in the palliative treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Bayer is not responsible for, and does not endorse, any of the information found on this page.

Treatment Options

		Chemotherapy
		Cryosurgery
		Hormone therapy
		Radiation therapy
		Radical prostatectomy
		Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP)
		Watchful waiting

There are many treatments for prostate cancer. The best one for you depends on a number of factors. These include your age, your overall health, and the stage and grade of your cancer.

Be sure to discuss the possible benefits, risks and side effects with each option. The sections here outline some of the general risks and side effects. However, your doctor is the best source of information on your condition. Before you and your doctor select any treatment approach, risks and benefits should be thoroughly discussed.Take the time to research all of your treatment options. Consider getting a second opinion before making a final decision. The most common treatment options for prostate cancer include watchful waiting, radiation, and hormone therapy.

The effectiveness of hormone therapy will depend on how much cancer is in your body and how high the prostate specific antigen (PSA) level was before treatment was started.⁵ The higher the amount of cancer in the body, the less effective the treatment will be. If the PSA level ranges from 0.0 to 0.1 ng/ml, the hormone therapy should be effectively working.⁶ However, research indicates the faster the PSA level drops and the longer it stays down, the better the outcome.⁷

Campbell ’s Urology, 7th ed.1998

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What side effects are typical for this type of therapy: Hot flashes, breast tenderness/enlargement, possible impotency, reduced sex drive, diarrhea, nausea/vomiting, or tiredness. Long term use may cause liver damage or bone loss.⁸

Who makes a good candidate: Hormone therapy is often used for men whose cancer has spread to other parts of the body or has come back after earlier treatment.⁹

There are several types of hormone therapy:

Orchiectomy is a permanent, surgical procedure to remove the testicles. It is performed as an outpatient procedure at a hospital or outpatient facility, and patients are able to go home a few hours later. It is called a hormone therapy because it works by removing the main source of male hormones.¹⁰

Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) analogs are drugs that reduce the amount of testosterone a man produces in his testicles. It is basically a copy of a naturally occurring hormone in the body that stimulates the production of testosterone. These drugs may be delivered via injection at one-, three-, four-, or six-month intervals, or alternatively via a once-yearly implant. This form of therapy is reported to be as effective as orchiectomy.¹¹

Antiandrogens are drugs that block the cell’s ability to absorb the androgens a man’s body produces. However, a small amount of androgens are still secreted by the adrenal glands. Patients take these drugs in pill form, once or three times daily. Sometimes they are used with orchiectomy or LHRH analogs in a combination called total androgen blockade. Antiandrogens are intended to be taken for the rest of your life.¹²

Secondary hormone therapy includes less commonly used drugs, such as megestrol acetate (Megace), medroxyprogesterone (Depo-Provera), and ketoconazole (Nizoral).¹³

In the past, diethylstilbestrol was the main form of hormonal treatment for prostate cancer. These other types of hormone therapy have now replaced this drug.¹⁴

Intermittent hormonal therapy is used because some doctors believe constant exposure to hormonal drugs might promote resistance and recommend intermittent treatment as an alternative. With intermittent therapy, hormonal drugs are stopped after a man’s blood PSA level drops to a very low level and remains stable for a pre-determined amount of time. If the PSA level begins to rise, the drugs are started again.¹⁵

Viadur is indicated in the palliative treatment of advanced prostate cancer.