Allergic reactions have been reported and can result in a rare case of arthritis. Intermittent Hormone Therapy is currently being investigated. Intermittent hormone therapy is a treatment regimen where hormone therapy is started and when the cancer shrinks to a certain level as measured by the PSA , we stop the hormone therapy. The advantage of intermittent hormone therapy is a reduction in the side effects of the hormone therapy during the periods that the patient is off treatment and reduced overall costs. Early studies have suggested that success in treating the cancer is not hurt by using intermittent therapy.
Intermittent therapy is still investigational.
Until the mid-1980s, female hormones in pill form, particularly Stilbesterol , were used to treat prostate cancer. Female hormones act on the male pituitary gland in the brain to reduce the release of a special pituitary hormone that stimulates the testicles to release testosterone. Female hormones had the advantage of requiring only a daily pill to take, but has the disadvantage of increased risks of heart attack and stroke and also caused painful breast enlargement in many men. We still use female hormones to reduce the effects of hot flashes in some men, and occasionally in men whose tumors have started to grow again despite the hormone treatments. Many insurance companies pay for this medicine, while other companies, including Medicare do not cover this prescription.