Recovery of Serum Testosterone Levels and Sexual Function in Patients Treated With Short-term Luteinizing Hormone-releasing Hormone Antagonist as a Neoadjuvant Therapy Before External Radiotherapy for Intermediate-risk Prostate Cancer: Preliminary Prospective Study.

INTRODUCTION

External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) with short-term androgen deprivation therapy is the standard of care for intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients. However, no study to date has evaluated the hormonal kinetics or sexual and hormonal function recovery after cessation of short-term luteinizing hormone (LH)-releasing hormone (LHRH) antagonist treatment.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

Ten intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients (mean age, 69.9 years) were included. All patients received 4 months of LHRH antagonist (degarelix) treatment followed by EBRT. The testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone, and prostate-specific antigen levels were measured and Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite questionnaires were completed before LHRH antagonist therapy at baseline; 1, 2, 3, and 4 months after the first injection of LHRH antagonist treatment; and every 2 months thereafter until 18 months.

RESULTS

The testosterone levels were at the castration level at 1 month after the first LHRH antagonist injection. The median interval to recover a normal testosterone level (> 7.2 nmol/L) was 7 months after the last LHRH antagonist administration. The LH and follicle-stimulating hormone levels decreased but had increased more than twice above baseline at 15 months after the last LHRH antagonist injection. The sexual function and hormonal bother subdomain scores and sexual and hormonal domain scores decreased once after LHRH antagonist treatment but had significantly recovered thereafter (P < .05).

CONCLUSION

In most patients, the testosterone level had normalized within 9 months after the last LHRH administration. Sexual and hormonal function recovered after short-term LHRH antagonist administration for neoadjuvant therapy before EBRT.