Zoladex (Goselerin) How long does it work?
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From: Gareth Jefferson on 24 Sep 2005 21:17 I was put on Zoladex a year ago, stopped last December, then told to resume a week ago. Does anyone know how long this ablates testosterone? I thought about 18 months was it.
From: Steve Kramer on 25 Sep 2005 07:06 Good to hear from you again, Gareth. Can't answer your question. Based on what I have read here, it varies widely among users. As I recall, your initial PSA during 2004 was about a five. You either tried radiation but had a problem or couldn't even try it (I don't remember). I assume Zoladex worked if they took you off in December. I also assume it's since started rising. Can you tell us your history? I am most curious in that if your doc was thinking intermittent ADT, July to December seems far too short. -- PSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins PSA .1 .1 .1 .27 .37 .75 EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 (4 mo), 12/03, 4/04, 09/04, 01/05 PSA .07 .05 .06 .05 non Illegitimi carborundum "Gareth Jefferson" <gareth.jefferson(a)dsl.pipex.com> wrote in message news:BF5BB92D.9E02%gareth.jefferson(a)dsl.pipex.com... > I was put on Zoladex a year ago, stopped last December, then told to resume > a week ago. > > Does anyone know how long this ablates testosterone? > > I thought about 18 months was it. >
From: Di ck Winters on 29 Sep 2005 11:38 I have been on Lupron, starting 3 years after my prostate was removed, for five and a half years now. I was also on Casodex for 3 of those years. My PSA has remained at <0.1. I always am concerned about each quarterly appointment with my doctor, but so far so good. I see him again in October.
From: Alan Meyer on 29 Sep 2005 19:34 Gareth Jefferson wrote: > I was put on Zoladex a year ago, stopped last December, > then told to resume a week ago. > > Does anyone know how long this ablates testosterone? > > I thought about 18 months was it. Gareth, I'm not an expert, but here's the theory as I understand it. Lupron, Zoladex, and other LHRH agonists suppress the production of testosterone for as long as you take them. If you live another 30 years and use Zoladex for the entire time, it will suppress T production as well or better in the 30th year as in the first. The real issue is, how long do you benefit from suppression of T? Some types of prostate cancer cells are highly dependent on the presence of T in order to grow and reproduce. Others are not. They'll grow and reproduce even if there is no testosterone in the body. Most men have a mix of the two types of cells, with the T dependent cells predominating. When on Zoladex, those cells (so the theory goes) do not multiply and many actually die off. But the other cells continue to divide and multiply. Eventually, most of the tumor cells in the body are the non- dependent kind. At that point, the hormone therapy isn't doing much more good. Most of the cancer is of the second kind and it's unaffected by the absence of T. Different men have different mixes of cancer cell types. Some have highly T dependent cancers and some don't. One measure of which you are is, how low did your PSA go when on hormone therapy. The lower it got, the more T dependent your cancer is. Dr. Steven Strum claims in his book that men that get down to .05 PSA on HT have highly T dependent cancers and can hope to live a very long time on HT. If I remember correctly, he said he never saw anyone relapse in the first five years if they got that low and many were getting 10 years or even more. Francois Mitterand, the former President of France, was diagnosed with advanced metastatic PCa just 6 months after taking office. He went on HT and hid his cancer from everyone until after he left office. He lived 15 years after diagnosis. Other men have only gotten as little as 6 months of benefit. In your case, the low point you reached in your first bout of HT may give you some clues as to how long it will continue helping you. For you, and any of us who is on HT, it may not be necessary to live the rest of your natural life on HT. All we need to do is live until newer and better treatments come along. I'm hoping that will happen in the next few years. Best of luck with it. Alan
From: Justin Case on 30 Sep 2005 12:02
"Alan Meyer" <ameyer2(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:1128036860.652107.141390(a)z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com... : Gareth Jefferson wrote: : : > I was put on Zoladex a year ago, stopped last December, : > then told to resume a week ago. : > : > Does anyone know how long this ablates testosterone? : > : > I thought about 18 months was it. : : Gareth, : : I'm not an expert, but here's the theory as I understand it. : : Lupron, Zoladex, and other LHRH agonists suppress the : production of testosterone for as long as you : take them. <Remainder snipped> Your explanation, Alan, is certainly more complete than anything I can offer but my doctor said that, in layman's terms, Lupron, the one hormone I was injected with twice, essentially "puts the cancer cells to sleep, makes them dormant, for a while but does nothing to kill or destroy them." It was explained to me that most men achieve benefit from hormone injections, if they benefit at all, for little more than two years, at which time the cancer cells, again speaking metaphorically, reawaken. After two such injections of Lupron and dubious PSA results following it was recommended that radiation should be my next option. Radiation has its undesirable consequences as well but in my case my PSA checks have been undetectable for nearly four years. Ken Bland |