Intermittent Androgen Suppression Therapy for Prostate Cancer Patients: A Choice for Improved Quality of Life?

Intermittent Androgen Suppression Therapy for Prostate Cancer Patients: An Update

“…The benefits of long-term AS in patients with advanced disease are well established, nevertheless, because this therapy has potential long-term side effects strategies should be applied that manage or prevent long-term complications [50]. One such strategy is IAS, in which patients receive regular cycles of AS, the duration of which is usually determined by PSA levels [51]. Canadian prostate cancer researchers have led the field of androgen withdrawal therapy for many years, from Nobel prize winner (Halifax born) Charles Huggins in 1940 to Nicholas Bruchovsky's Vancouver team's preclinical and clinical work on intermittent therapy in the early 1990s [52].…”

“…The basic premise of IAS is that periods (or cycles) on androgen deprivation for cancer control are followed by periods off therapy for testosterone recovery and improvements in quality of life parameters (such as libido, sexual function, energy, cognition and sense of masculinity). Preclinical studies suggest that the reintroduction of testosterone into the cellular milieu during the off-treatment period keeps the remaining cancer cells androgen-dependent, allowing for the next successful round of AS and delaying progression to hormone-resistant prostate cancer [51]. Accumulating data indicate that this approach improves the tolerability of AS and patients' QoL, without compromising clinical outcomes.…”