[Antihormonal therapy in prostate cancer : Side effects]

Androgen deprivation is still standard therapy for prostate cancer, either as primary androgen deprivation therapy or with the use of secondary hormonal drugs including abiraterone and enzalutamide. However, especially the clinically occult side effects like metabolic changes or cardiovascular complications and effects on the psyche of the patient are often not recognized in daily practice. Active monitoring of such side effects is essential for prevention and early intervention. In addition, the efficacy of androgen deprivation therapies is limited by primary and secondary resistance. The underlying molecular mechanism including splice variants of the androgen receptor in contrast to mutations are usually reversible and should be regarded as a sign of efficacy of the current treatment. Therefore, the clever, timely use of androgen deprivation or even the use of a bipolar androgen therapy should enable reversal of resistance to again render tumor cells sensitive to androgen-deprivation therapy.