Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 25, 2026
A New Technique for Treating Low-risk Prostate Cancer—Super Active Surveillance
Published on: November 7, 2025
Prospective randomized trial comparing flutamide as adjuvant treatment versus observation after radical prostatectomy
Manfred P Wirth1, Lothar Weissbach, Franz-Josef Marx
1Department of Urology, University Hospital "Carl Gustav Carus", Technical University of Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, D-01307 Dresden, Germany. manfred.wirth@mailbox.tu-dresden.de
Objective:
To assess the efficacy and the tolerability of flutamide as adjuvant treatment after radical prostatectomy for locally advanced, lymph node-negative prostate cancer.
Methods:
Men with locally advanced, lymph node-negative prostate cancer were randomized after radical prostatectomy to receive either flutamide 750mg daily or no adjuvant treatment. Recurrence-free and overall survival were the study end points. Recurrence was defined as a PSA value greater than 5ng/ml or two values greater than 2ng/ml more than three months apart with increasing tendency or three values greater than 1ng/ml more than three months apart with increasing tendency or any clinical recurrence.
Results:
309 patients (157 in the control arm and 152 in the flutamide arm) were eligible for efficacy analysis. The median follow-up was 6.1 years. Recurrence-free survival was better in the flutamide group ( P=0.0041), there was, however, no detectable difference in overall survival ( p=0.92 ). Moreover, there was a considerable toxicity reported in the flutamide group.
Conclusion:
Although having some effect on disease recurrence, adjuvant flutamide treatment does not improve median-term overall survival after radical prostatectomy for locally advanced, lymph node-negative prostate cancer.
