Experiences of using intermittent hormone treatment

The new treaments are Zoledronic acid to help bones resistant to cancer cells, Docetaxel a chemotherapy drug to stop cells dividing and multiplying and Celecoxib a arthritis drug that slows the groth of cancer cells in laboratiy tests.

The aim of the trail is to investigate whether combining these drugs with hormone treatment can lengthen the time before the cancer starts to grow again. The treament I will recieve is random and could be hormone plus one or two of the new treatments. A higher proportion of men in the trial will though only recieve hormone treatment only.

However, if I agree to be involved in the trial I will not be able to have intermittent hormone treatment (stopping hormone treatment after 6/7 months and starting again after the cancer starts growing again). I have not been able to find any evidence that intermittent is anymore effective than continual hormone treatment (you do though get a break from the side affects).

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of intermittent against continual hormone treatment?

I have to make the judgement to join the trial and hope I get one or two of the new treatments but accept I might only get hormone treatment. If I only get hormone treament I will have the advantage of being monitored closely.

However the issue of intermittent/continual hormone treatment outside of the trial is making my decision harder, albeit that this is dependent on my PSA level coming down to a satifactory level after 3 months of hormone treatment.

Thanks Col

Hi Tony,

Good to hear from you.

My PSA level was 131 and Gleason rating of 10, hence the importance of keeping it at bay for as long as possible. I am considered stage 4 although scans have not shown it as spread but the PSA level indicated it has.

The clinical trail is called STAMPEDE.

Thanks Col

Thanks for all the kind posts and thanks Tony for the recomendation of Dr Charles Myers 'Beating Prostate Cancer: Hormonal Therapy & Diet. I have managed to track down a copy which makes interesting reading although my Consultant Oncologist did not agree with his tripple hormone approach but it has given me hope that there is scope to try other strategies rather than move to Chemotherapy after Zoldex and Casodex stop working. She did agree with some of his additives with I will be taking.

Anyway after discussing the trial with my Consultant Urologist who stated that he certainly would not start me on intermittent HT I have decided to participate in the trial and have been randomised to have Celecoxib (asprin type drug used for treating arthritis which has proved promising in lab tests) in combination with HT for a double prong attack at slowing the cancer growth.

The fantastic news is that a little after 9 weeks of having Zolodex injections my PSA level (required as part of starting the trial) has fallen from 136 to 1.0.

Thanks again, Col