Meta-analysis results show hormone therapy can delay prostate cancer spread
29 Jul 2025
People with localised prostate cancer who have had surgery to remove their prostate, followed by radiotherapy, can benefit from having hormone therapy. This is according to results from our DADSPORT collaborative meta-analysis project, recently published in European Urology.
Each year in the UK, around 7,000 people with localised prostate cancer have surgery to remove their prostate. Some of them also receive radiotherapy. However, despite evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs), it remained unclear whether hormone therapy (which is used to treat more advanced disease) should also be offered, or for how long.
To help answer this question, our Meta-analysis team at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL analysed data from five RCTs (including RADICALS-HD), including a total of 4,411 participants. This represents 96% of participants who had ever taken part in similar trials. By working directly with the researchers who carried out the original trials, the Meta-analysis team was able to produce reliable and detailed results - including results not previously published - and to ensure that results from different trials were directly comparable.
In this group of patients, overall survival is already high, with 85 out of 100 people alive eight years after diagnosis. The meta-analysis found only a small overall survival benefit for those who received hormone therapy. However, people with poorer prognosis appeared to benefit more. Importantly, the addition of hormone therapy clearly delayed the cancer from spreading, reducing the risk of spread from 20% to 16% at eight years. This benefit was seen whether hormone therapy was given for six months or two years.
Hormone therapy can cause side effects such as hot flushes, tiredness, and erectile dysfunction. Because of this, especially when considering long-term treatment, it is important that people discuss the potential benefits and risks with their doctors. These conversations can help ensure that decisions about hormone therapy are based on the latest evidence, as well as individual preferences, priorities, and any other health conditions they may have.
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