Article: Half dose prostate drugs ‘controls cancer minus side effects

@jeffmarc
I said that hot flashes don’t occur with lutamides. Must admit I’ve never heard anybody report that they’ve had a problem with them because of lutamides.

Apparently it is possible to have hot flash problems due to lutamides. I think it must be a rare situation, But it can occur. The biggest problem is with separating out what’s causing the hot flash, ADT or the lutamide.

@surftohealth88 the future of all cancer therapies really, is turning the bodies own defense /immune sytem on to the specific cancer...while the ADT and radiation do have some noteworthy succeses, they do come at a cost. as most of know, the ADT side effects can become tedious and depressing...hopefully, there are some new and different and effective therapies which will impact some of us in a very positive way...Androgen suppression is not really new, it has been recognized for over 40 yrs as a way to slow and halt cancer progression in prostate cancer patients...similar treatment is used with women's breast cancer only the estrogen is the hormone suppressed.

Lets hope more cancer treatments and cures are on the hoorizon for all who need them !

@xahnegrey40

Yes, I also 100% believe that immunotherapy is the answer for all cancers inclooding PC. : )))
It is really just matter of time until it becomes available across board. So much research is done and new therapies available at accelerated pace : )))

In the meantime it is nice to see that even already available medications and existing protocols get "tweaked" so that they have less side effects and make life easier for PC patients and even perhaps become more and /or longer effective ( like discovery about benefits of ADT "holidays" etc.).

Hope is the major and beautiful force that keeps us strong and sane : )), and for some people also the faith.

So, yes, cheers to hope !!! : )))) < 3 And hip hip hooray to all scientists who work tirelessly and usually without much recognition on removing this scourge on humanity once and for all !!! < 3

@surftohealth88 I always get confused by what they leave out of these articles.
When you are on a lutamide, are you always on another form of ADT as well?
Do you block both the production of T - and the receptor sites on PCa cells at the same time? Always? Never? Sometimes?
So maybe the ‘halving’ is taking away the T suppression and perhaps leaving the blocking?
They don’t mention any of this but I can’t expect them to in a simple article.
Phil

@mjp0512 They would if it hits the US. Always wondered if doctors somehow get a cut of each prescription they write.

@chippydoo Doctors do not get "a cut" of any prescription they write. Prescription patterns in PCa treatment are based on the best evidence available at the time. To carefully examine the benefit/risk of reduced dose ADT will require a large number of number of patients evaluated in a double-blind controlled study over an extended period of time before the "proof"that the long-term outcome (disease free interval and survival) is not negatively impacted by the lower dose or shorter duration of therapy. We would all like to see that to be the case, but the study first needs to be performed and validated before any of us jump on that bandwagon.

I am a firm believer in taking the minimum effective dose for ANY medication.

But given so many variables (age, body size, Gleason, PSA, stage, genetics, etc) how can anyone predict what minimum dose would be effective for a particular prostate cancer patient?

In my case, I chose the ADT Orgovyx, primarily because of its lower risk of cardiovascular issues. And I REALLY like that it's a daily pill, not an injected monthly jolt.

But as far as I know, Orgovyx has only been tested at a single dosage. And here in the U.S., that's the only dose available. So I expect that's the dose any prudent doctor would prescribe.

Long-story-short, in retrospect, after my PSA was undetectable, I believe a half-dose of Orgovyx would've been effective for me.

But if I ever go with a half-dose, I would insist on more frequent PSA & testosterone testing, say, every month or 2 instead of 3-month intervals.

Today I'm 2 years post-radiation treatments and one year after stopping Orgovyx. Thankfully, with my PSA currently stable in the 0.2's, I don't foresee resuming ADT any time soon.

All that said, who knows what standard-of-care treatments we'll have available in the coming years.

@retiredboomer71

I've been on monthly PSA tests for five years, ever since the first PSA rise after surgery. My current oncologist said it wasn't really necessary, but approved it for my peace of mind.

https://prostatecanceruk.org/about-us/news-and-views/2026/03/enhance-trial-to-revolutionise-hormone-therapy Note that this only applies to localized prostate cancer (tumor(s) found in the gland, no metastasis)

@rbtsch1951 Dr. do not get a cut but in the UK the NHS will save a lot if half doses are as good or better as full doses. To many political obstacles for CMS to sponsor that research in the US while the government health services are natural sponsors in many countries.