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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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Combo Treatment Halves Prostate Death Rates: Study

Researchers say using radiation plus hormones should be worldwide practice

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(Newser) – Using radiation therapy in combination with hormone treatment can double the survival rate of patients with advanced prostate cancer, a new European study finds. Of those men given only standard drugs, 24% died after 10 years, compared to less than 12% of those given both treatments. Combined treatment is already standard in the US and the researchers say it should become standard worldwide, WebMD reports.

The study focused on patients whose cancer had broken out from the wall of the prostate gland, but not advanced much further. Subjects being treated with radiation in addition to hormones suffered significantly more from diarrhea, the researchers wrote in the journal Lancet Oncology, but 85% of patients said the side effects were acceptable.

Prostate cancer is the second-leading cancer killer of men, killing 221,000 worldwide every year.
Prostate cancer is the second-leading cancer killer of men, killing 221,000 worldwide every year.   (AP GRAPHIC)
Fighting advanced prostate cancer with a combination of hormone therapy and radiation treatment dramatically cuts death rates, researchers say.
Fighting advanced prostate cancer with a combination of hormone therapy and radiation treatment dramatically cuts death rates, researchers say.   (Shutter Stock)
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The results should change current practice, making long-term hormonal therapy plus radical radiotherapy the standard of care for men with locally advanced prostate cancer. - Dr. Chris Parker and Dr. Alex Tan of Britain's Institute of Cancer Research

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PaleRider
Dec 16, 08 1:52 PM CST
Problem is, it will be 15 years before the US approves this treatment at the rate they go. Reply
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Summary of the study
The Lancet

Study may change prostate treatment outside USA
USA Today

Study finds dual treatment halves death rate
Independent (UK)


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