Conditions: Prostate Cancer
Keywords: prostate cancer radiation therapy lovastatin rectal injury
Allocation: NA | Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Enrollment: 73
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
Lovastatin may protect against late effects of radiation therapy in patients with prostate cancer

Detailed description:
Oral lovastatin will be given at the dose of 20 mg/day with evening meal beginning on the first day of external beam radiation therapy (external beam alone or external beam followed by brachytherapy) or on the first day of brachytherapy (brachytherapy alone or brachytherapy followed by external beam radiotherapy) and continue for 12 months.

Arms:
arm 1: Lovastatin (20-80 mg/d) was started on day 1 of radiation and continued for 12 months. Patients were followed for an additional 12 months. Lovastatin once per day for 1 year. After the implant, they are asked to return for checkups (study visits 4-13) 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 15 months, 18 months, 21 months and 24 months after the procedure. At 8 weeks, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months, will also have a blood test to check their liver.

Interventions: intervention 1: lovastatin
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: The HMG-coA reductase inhibitor used in this study will be lovastatin. Dosage: 20 mg/d PO with evening meal. Patients on a higher dose of lovastatin at the time of study entry may continue at that dose level; for patients switching to lovastatin, the dose will be at the discretion of the prescribing physician, but must be at least 20 mg/day.Schedule: begin on the first day of external beam radiation therapy (external beam alone or external beam followed by brachytherapy) or on the day of brachytherapy (brachytherapy alone or brachytherapy followed by external beam radiotherapy) and continue for 12 months. Patients or their third party payers will be expected to cover the cost of the drug.

Protocol document: