Hormonal treatment in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is one of the most current diseases in elderly men and contributes greatly to the increase in mortality, morbidity and cost of health care. An adequate therapeutical approach requires a whole set of methods for establishing a correct histologic diagnosis and evaluating the local and general spread of the disease. As most of the neoplastic cells in the prostate are at least partly androgen-dependent, the goal of the hormonal therapy is to deprive them of androgenic hormones and their derivatives. On this purpose, the most important means of the hormonal therapy, starting with the traditional ones (orchidectomy, hypophysectomy, adrenalectomy, androgens administration) and ending with the latest achievements (anti-androgens, antiestrogens, LH--RH analogous) are scrutinized, making specific recommendations as to their indications, way of administration and effectiveness.