Results of clinical study on hormone therapy’s effect on prostate cancer published

After more than 15 years, the results of a clinical study on the effects of hormone therapy on patients with prostate cancer has been published

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — After more than 15 years, the results of a clinical study on the effects of hormone therapy on patients with prostate cancer has been published.

The study was started in 2006 and ended in 2015, with the last eight years having been spent following the study’s participants and documenting how they were doing following the end of the therapy.

Michael Papagikos is the medical director for the Zimmer Cancer Institute at Novant Health.

He said they were trying to determine whether there’s an advantage to adding hormonal therapy during treatment.

“It suggested that even with better, more precise, higher dose radiation therapy, there’s still a benefit that happens to most patients when they combine that radiation with a short course of hormonal therapy,” Papagikos said.

According to Papagikos, hormone therapy actually reduces the amount of testosterone in the body to fight cancer.