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Why it's done
By Mayo Clinic staffHormone therapy for prostate cancer is used to stop your body from producing the male hormone testosterone, which fuels the growth of prostate cancer cells.
Your doctor may recommend hormone therapy for prostate cancer as an option at different times during your cancer treatment and for different reasons, such as:
- In advanced (metastatic) prostate cancer, hormone therapy can shrink the cancer and slow the growth of tumors, relieving signs and symptoms.
- In prostate cancer that recurs after treatment, hormone therapy is one treatment men and their doctors can consider.
- In locally advanced prostate cancer, hormone therapy may make external beam radiation therapy more effective.
- In men with a high risk of recurrence after initial treatment, hormone therapy may reduce this risk.
References
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Wein AJ, et al. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-6911-9..C2009-1-60786-3--TOP&isbn=978-1-4160-6911-9&uniqId=310232887-6. Accessed March 20, 2013.
- Prostate cancer. Fort Washington, Pa.: National Comprehensive Cancer Network. http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/f_guidelines.asp. Accessed March 21, 2013.
- Dawson NA. Secondary endocrine therapies for castration-resistant prostate cancer. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed March 20, 2013.
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