Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer

Although the use of primary androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) as monotherapy in men with clinically localized prostate cancer may be slowly declining, recent evidence suggests that it remains a frequently used management approach for men older than 65. Moreover, previous risk-benefit assessments of primary ADT in this population have provided mixed results.

Now, investigators have conducted a retrospective cohort study of 15,170 patients from one of three health plans with newly diagnosed, clinically localized prostate cancer who had not undergone curative-intent treatment with radiotherapy or surgery. Of these patients, 23% (median age, 76) received primary ADT within 12 months of initial diagnosis, and 77% (median age, 69) did not receive…