Summary:
Intermittent endocrine treatment or cyclic therapy of prostate cancer aims at prolonging survival by delaying
progression to androgene independence and at improving quality of life by avoiding the side effects of continuous
androgen ablation. Intermittent endocrine treatment is capable of inducing multiple apoptoic regressions and of
improvement in quality of life including sexual functions. The recommended lenght of therapeutic period is 6–9
months. The mean off-therapy interval approaches 50 % of the duration of the treatment cycle. The mean time to
disease progression is 32 month. The definitive answer to the question of prolonged survival awaits the completion
of ongoing randomized studies.
Key words:
prostate cancer, intermittent androgen treatment.
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