Intermittent androgen deprivation therapy in prostate cancer treatment: long-term multi-centre study results

A new study co-authored by Dr. Larry Goldenberg, urologic surgeon and researcher at the Vancouver Prostate Centre and head of the Department Urologic Sciences at UBC, has shown that prostate cancer patients who are given a “drug holiday” have the same survival rate as the continuous treatment group, and a far better quality of life.

Vancouver Coastal Health researchers and clinicians at the Vancouver Prostate Centre are pioneers in this field, having begun research and treatment of patients with intermittent therapy since the 1990s. The Centre has been an epicenter for this form of treatment and results from this large-scale study confirm earlier research. The study, which was published in New England Journal of Medicine (September 6, 2012), is expected to impact changes in prostate cancer protocols at other centres across Canada and worldwide.

Click here for more information and here for the reference at New England Journal of Medicine.