Slow zoledronic acid releasing testis prostheses in the treatment of prostate cancer patients with bone metastases

Surgical castration is still considered the 'gold standard' for androgen deprivation therapy which have become the mainstay for the management of advanced prostate cancer. The main drawback of this safe operation is that it may have a negative psychological effect, thus, in recent years, a decline in the utilization of bilateral orchiectomy which is the most cost-effective form of androgen deprivation therapy can be witnessed. Testicular prostheses have been shown to reduce the psychological impact resulting from loss or absence of a testicle in those patients. Besides, patients with advanced prostate cancer are at risk of skeletal complications and bisphosphonates are used in treatment. Zoledronic acid is the only bisphosphonate agent demonstrated to effectively reduce skeletal related events in patients with advanced prostate cancer metastatic to bone. Therefore, zoledronic acid releasing testicular prostheses can be used in the treatment of prostate cancer patients with bone metastases after bilateral orchiectomy. This technology has the potential to become the preferred clinical management tool for prostate cancer patients with bone metasthases after bilateral orchiectomy. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.