Peripheral Androgen Blockade Feasible for PSA Relapse

Peripheral androgen blockade with a combination of finasteride and flutamide is feasible for prostate cancer patients who experience biochemical failure after definitive local therapy, researchers reported online ahead of print in Cancer.

In a study, 99 such patients received finasteride 5 mg orally per day and flutamide 250 mg orally three times a day. Investigators observed an 80% or greater decline in PSA in 96 patients (96%). Five-year overall survival was 87%. Toxicities were mild.

The researchers, led by J. Paul Monk, MD, of The Ohio State University School of Medicine in Columbus, noted that “because testosterone levels are not suppressed, this approach may be associated with less morbidity than conventional gonadal androgen suppression.”