In men with prostate cancer who have had the prostate surgically removed, about a third of the time the cancer doesn’t completely go away or it comes back. In those patients, radiation therapy appears to improve long-term freedom from recurrence, but now comes strong evidence that treatment with antiandrogen drugs, or male hormone blockers—in addition to radiation—improves the rate of survival significantly, and greatly reduces the likelihood that the cancer will spread to other parts of the body.

These findings were published in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Kenneth Zeitzer, MD, (right) of Einstein’s Department of Radiation Oncology, was a co-author of the study.

The study followed 760 men over 12 years who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and had their prostate removed, only to have the disease persist, as shown by increasing blood levels of prostate-specific antigen, or PSA. PSA is a standard test for prostate cancer.

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