Hormone use after radiotherapy failure: a survey of Canadian uro-oncology specialists

INTRODUCTION: A survey of Canadian uro-oncology specialists was performed to assess practice patterns of patients with recurrent prostate cancer postradiotherapy and to assess the feasibility of conducting a trial in this setting. METHODS: There were 14 survey questions and 1 demographic question. Responses were reported by frequency. RESULTS: There were 96 respondents. Most respondents use both prostate-specific antigen doubling time (PSAdt) and PSA level when deciding to start androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in asymptomatic patients. About half of respondents start ADT when PSA is greater than 10 ng/mL or when the PSAdt is less than 6 months. Eighty-six percent felt that the timing of ADT was an important research question. Over 1500 patients per year were estimated as being available for such a trial. CONCLUSION: After radiotherapy failure, respondents initiated ADT about half of the time when PSA is less than 10 ng/mL and/or PSAdt is less than 6 months. A clinical trial examining the timing of ADT has strong support and appears to be feasible.