Yes, it does. Mayo's description of the treatment says it will also kill or slow the growth of the cancer cells. It's especially important to be used with patients who have advanced cancer, Gleason score of 8+. I also waited 2 months to start treatment and was told that it would shrink the Prostrate and slow down the movement of the cells, making it easier to radiate the cancer. My second and third shots were to reduce the risk of recurrent cancer. I was told that the lupron treatments, in addition to the radiation, improved my chance of survival by 20%. It brought my survival rate to 80%. If you have Gleason score of 6, you might not need the lupron.