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Hormone therapy
Source: Prostate Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: December 20, 2024 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.
Context: Treatment Option Overview / The following types of treatment are used:
Hormone therapy is a cancer treatment that removes hormones or blocks their action and stops cancer cells from growing. Hormones are substances made by glands in the body and circulated in the bloodstream. In prostate cancer, male sex hormones can cause prostate cancer to grow. Drugs, surgery, or other hormones are used to reduce the amount of male hormones or block them from working. This is called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).
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Hormone therapy for prostate cancer may include:
Abiraterone acetate can prevent prostate cancer cells from making androgens. It is used in men with advanced prostate cancer that has not gotten better with other hormone therapy. It is also used in men with high-risk prostate cancer that has improved with treatments that lower hormone levels.
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Orchiectomy is a surgical procedure to remove one or both testicles, the main source of male hormones, such as testosterone, to decrease the amount of hormone being made.
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Estrogens (hormones that promote female sex characteristics) can prevent the testicles from making testosterone. However, estrogens are seldom used today in the treatment of prostate cancer because of the risk of serious side effects.
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Luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonists can stop the testicles from making testosterone. Examples are leuprolide, goserelin, and buserelin.
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Antiandrogens can block the action of androgens (hormones that promote male sex characteristics), such as testosterone. Examples are flutamide, bicalutamide, enzalutamide, apalutamide, nilutamide, and darolutamide.
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Drugs that can prevent the adrenal glands from making androgens include ketoconazole, aminoglutethimide, hydrocortisone, and progesterone.
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Hot flashes, impaired sexual function, loss of desire for sex, and weakened bones may occur in men treated with hormone therapy. Other side effects include diarrhea, nausea, and itching.
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For more information, see Drugs Approved for Prostate Cancer.
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Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice