Hormones 'can cure a third of all prostate cancer victims'

A review of four major trials showed that in a third of all cases, existing hormone drugs can control the disease for so many years that patients can be regarded as cured.

This is the first systematic analysis to back the growing use of long-term drug treatment after radiotherapy or surgery for prostate cancer.

Up to a third of the 31,000 British men diagnosed with prostate cancer every year could benefit from hormone drugs such as Zoladex, scientists said.

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The treatment could even help those whose cancer has spread outside the prostate gland.

Oncologists are increasingly giving injections of the drug, also known as goserelin, to patients for two or three years after diagnosing them with prostate cancer.

It reduces levels of the male sex hormone testosterone, which stops the cancer growing.

The latest review, in the medical journal Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases, revealed that men treated with Zoladex have almost the same risk of dying as men in their age group who do not have prostate cancer.

Lead author Dr Heather Payne said: "This exciting data provides evidence that adjuvant therapy with Zoladex can consistently allow patients to outlive their disease.

"It essentially provides a cure for a substantial number of men with locally advanced prostate cancer.

"These men have the type of disease that is likely to recur after initial treatment because microscopic cells have spread to the lymph nodes or bones.

"This review is fantastic news because I can now advise a patient that he's getting a treatment that will help stop the cancer from coming back.

"It's not going to cure every man but a substantial proportion will not die from the disease as a result."

She added: "It's like breast cancer was several years ago when doctors discovered that hormone therapy after initial treatment could improve long-term survival."

The research looked at four trials involving more than 3,000 prostate cancer sufferers, many of whom were treated with Zoladex for three to four years after their initial radiotherapy or surgery. The hormone drug was originally developed as a palliative treatment but the researchers wanted to assess whether it was actually 'curing' the disease.

They analysed the statistics showing disease-free survival after treatment and compared them with the overall survival rate in a healthy male population of the same age.

The conclusion was that many men were not relapsing and the death rate was not being pushed up by the side-effects of long-term use of Zoladex.

The drug is made by AstraZeneca, which sponsored the review. It costs £84 a month and is given as an implant under the skin of the stomach once a month.

Dr Payne, a consultant oncologist at University College Hospital, London, said the side-effects ranged from hot flushes to sexual dysfunction.

"However, it is a well-tolerated treatment and we know how to minimise these effects," she added. "They tend to disappear after men stop using the drug."

Dr Chris Hiley, of the Prostate Cancer Charity, said: "This study is useful because doctors are prescribing this drug more widely than ever before and doctors can be reassured that its use is beneficial in prolonging life.

"However, these results could mean that more men will be offered the drug for longer periods of time, so we would want to ensure that support and information services work well for the men who may have to endure side-effects."