Six-month androgen suppression plus radiation therapy compared with radiation therapy alone for men with prostate cancer and a rapidly increasing pretreatment prostate-specific antigen level.

PURPOSE: We evaluated whether treatment with 6 months of androgen-suppression therapy (AST) and radiation therapy (RT) compared with RT was associated with the time to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence, prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM), and all-cause mortality (ACM) in men with a pretreatment PSA velocity more than 2 ng/mL/yr.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study cohort comprised 241 men with clinically localized or locally advanced prostate cancer treated with RT and AST or RT from 1989 to 2002. Cox regression and Gray's formulation were used to assess whether treatment was associated significantly with the time to PSA recurrence or ACM and PCSM, respectively, adjusting for known prognostic factors.

RESULTS: Despite the significantly longer median follow-up, younger age at diagnosis, higher proportion of Gleason score 7 to 10, and advanced T-category cancers, significantly lower estimates of PSA recurrence (P < .001), PCSM (P = .007), and ACM (P < .001) were observed in men who were treated using RT and AST compared with RT. Treatment with RT and AST compared with RT was associated with a longer time to PSA recurrence (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.22; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.35; P < .001), PCSM (HR, 0.23, 95% CI, 0.09 to 0.64; P = .005), and ACM (HR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.16 to 0.58; P < .001).

CONCLUSION: Treatment using 6 months of AST and RT compared with RT in men with a pretreatment PSA velocity greater than 2 ng/mL/yr was associated with a longer time to PSA recurrence, PCSM, and ACM.