What is the life expectancy under hormone therapy? | Hormone therapy for prostate cancer

What is the life expectancy under hormone therapy?

If hormone therapy is used as a complementary curative therapy, prostate cancer is still curable. However, if the tumor has already spread and formed distant metastases, it is no longer considered curable. In this case, hormone therapy is carried out as palliative therapy. Life expectancy varies depending on how malignant the tumor is and where the metastases are located. Despite distant metastases, life expectancy can be several years.

Duration of hormone therapy

Hormone therapy for prostate cancer should be continued as long as it is effective.In most cases, the tumor develops resistance to the drugs after about two years and thus the therapy is no longer effective. The tumor can continue to grow despite very low testosterone levels. At this stage, prostate cancer is considered resistant to castration. There is now the option of treatment with newer substances from the class of antiandrogens or chemotherapy, which are still effective even if the tumor is resistant.