Hormone therapy is the use of hormones to stop cancer cells from growing. Hormone therapy for prostate cancer can take several forms. To stop the cancer from growing, female hormones or drugs called LHRH agonists that decrease the amount of male hormones made may be given. This treatment is usually used in men with advanced prostate cancer. Other side effects that can occur after orchiectomy and other hormone therapies include hot flashes, impaired sexual function, and loss of desire for sex.
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells.
Chemotherapy may be taken by pill, or it may be put into the body by inserting a needle into a vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells outside the prostate. To date, chemotherapy has not had significant value in treating prostate cancer, but clinical trials are in progress to find more effective drugs. Biological therapy tries to get the body to fight cancer. It uses materials made by the body or made in a laboratory to boost, direct, or restore the body's natural defenses against disease.