We all know that hormone therapy (ADT2) stops the production of testosterone and blocks the little testosterone that might still be produced from entering into the prostate cancer cell to “feed” the cancer.

There have been a number of studies that have investigated and concluded that ADT not only stops testosterone, but also has anti-vascular effects in in prostate cancer tumors in animal models. There has not been any studies examining the vascular effects in human prostate cancer.

Researchers at the Marie Curie Research Wing, Mount Vernon Cancer Center, Northwood, England tested the hypothesis that like in the animal models, androgen deprivation causes significant reductions in human prostate tumor blood flow leading to the induction of hypoxia.

Twenty men were examined, using five multi-parameter magnetic resonance imaging scans: two scans before the commencement of ADT, one scan after 1 month of ADT, and two further scans after 3 months of therapy. Quantitative parametric maps of the prostate informing on relative blood flow (rBF), relative blood volume (rBV), vascular permeability (transfer constant

[K(trans)]), leakage space (v(e)) and blood oxygenation (intrinsic relaxivity [R(2) *]) were calculated.

1- They found that tumor blood volume and blood flow decreased by 83% and 79%, respectively, in the first month (p < 0.0001), with 74% of men showing significant changes. 2- The proportion of individual men who achieved significant changes in T1 kinetic parameter values after 3 months of ADT for tumor measurements was 68% for K(trans) and 53% for v(e) By 3 months, significant increases in R(2) * had occurred in prostate tumor, with a rise of 41.1% (p < 0.0001). 3- They concluded that androgen deprivation (ADT) induces profound vascular collapse which support prostate cancer growht within 1 month of starting treatment. Increased R(2) in regions of prostate cancer and a decrease in blood volume suggest a reduction in tumor oxygenation. However, they did not also look at the possible ramifications ADT on other important vascular systems. We know that ADT increases heart disease, but what other negative vascular effects does it have? Reference: Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2010 Jul 12. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2010.02.060 ; Alonzi R, Padhani AR, Taylor NJ, Colllins DJ, D’Arcy JA, Stirling JJ, Saunders MI, Hoskin PJ.

PubMed Abstract
PMID: 20630668

Joel T Nowak, M.A., M.S.W.