Androgen deprivation therapy may not extend lives of patients with early prostate cancer.

The New York Times (7/15, A16, O'Connor) “Well” blog reports that research published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that “androgen deprivation therapy does not extend the lives of” patients with early prostate cancer. Investigators “followed tens of thousands of men with early prostate cancer for as long as 15 years and found that those who received androgen deprivation therapy lived no longer on average than those who did not.”

        The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger (7/15, Rose) points out that “side effects from ADT include metabolic syndrome – linked to heart disease – and an increased risk of bone fracture, said Grace Lu-Yao, PhD, who led the study.”

        Study: Physicians drive treatment decisions in low-risk prostate cancer. Reuters (7/15, Seaman) reports that researchpublished in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that physician characteristics may play a larger role than disease characteristics when it comes to how patients with low-risk prostate cancer are initially treated.

        Modern Healthcare (7/14, Subscription Publication) reports that investigators “analyzed data from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program as well as Medicare claims for men ages 66 and older.”

        HealthDay (7/15, Reinberg) reports that the investigators “found that most men are getting their prostate removed or undergoing radiation therapy when carefully watching the cancer may be just as effective without the risks and side effects of surgery or radiation.” The study “found that doctors who were older were more likely to recommend surgery or radiation rather than observation.” Additionally, “men were more likely to have surgery or radiation therapy if their urologist did that procedure...added” lead researcher Dr. Karen Hoffman.

        MedPage Today (7/15, Bankhead) reports that altogether, approximately “20% of the men chose active surveillance as the initial approach to management.” The “rates of active surveillance among the diagnosing urologists varied from 4.5% to 64% of patients.”