Total androgen suppression: experience from the Scandinavian Prostatic Cancer Group Study No. 2

A total of 294 patients with metastatic prostatic cancer were randomized prospectively in a Scandinavian multicenter study to either bilateral orchiectomy+placebo or orchiectomy+cyproterone acetate (CPA). The study was double blind. Patients with histologically verified prostatic cancer, with diagnosed skeletal metastases on X-ray or bone scintigrams and histological grade 1 and 2 were included: T0-4NXM1G1-2. 273 evaluable patients were followed either to progression, death or for a period of 3 years. 195 of these patients showed disease progression during the 3-year treatment period, 29 had stable disease and 49 patients experienced disease remission. The Kaplan-Meier analyses showed that time to progression as well as time to death for patients treated with castration+placebo are identical to that for patients treated with castration+PCA. Total androgen blockade with this antiandrogen was not superior to the standard orchiectomy treatment.