TRANSRECTAL ULTRASOUND EVALUATION OF LOCAL PROSTATE-CANCER IN PATIENTS TREATED WITH LHRH AGONIST AND IN COMBINATION WITH FLUTAMIDE

We followed total prostate and prostatic tumor volumes in patients who received combination endocrine therapy with the antiandrogen flutamide and the LHRH agonist [D-Trp6,des-Gly-NH2(10)]LHRH ethylamide. Twenty-three men with proved prostatic adenocarcinoma (Stages B1 to D2) were subjected to a transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) study before and after a three-month period of combination antihormonal therapy. A total prostatic volume reduction ranging from 17 percent to 70 percent (median 47%, p < 0.0001) was observed. An even greater effect was observed on tumor volume which was reduced by 20 percent to 91 percent (median 81%, p < 0.01). After treatment, the original suspicious zone became nonvisible in 4 cases. The TRUS measurements were confirmed by direct examination of the radical prostatectomy specimen in 7 cases. TRUS is thus a precise, sensitive, and valid method for evaluating the effect of combined antihormonal therapy on normal and tumoral prostatic tissues. These data indicate that combination therapy induces a rapid and marked reduction in glandular and tumoral prostatic volume which could well improve the success of radical prostatectomy and increase the chances of cure of localized prostatic cancer.