Observational study CAPITAL and prescription of hormonotherapy by French urologists in daily practice

Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease with different stages subject to a broad range of appropriate therapies to the patient or to the point in the disease course. Hormonotherapy has been developed for metastatic cancer and palliative therapy but is commonly used to treat all stages of prostate cancer nowadays. However its toxicity is not negligible and the cardiovascular, bone and metabolic side-effects are mainly responsible of a decrease of the benefits and in observance. The observational study CAPITAL has defined the conditions of prescriptions of androgen-deprivation therapy by physicians (n=208) in France (i.e., urologists and oncologists) and the effects of hormonotherapy in a population of more than 1,000 patients. Androgen-deprivation therapy was mainly given in case of biochemical recurrence after first-line treatment (32.2 %) or for metastasis (32.9 %). Overall, 83 % patients were satisfied of LH-RH agonists. Hormone therapy might be debated especially in young men with prostate cancer whose quality of life should be reduced. The prescription has to be associated with a global personal and stringent follow-up to prevent and reduce the toxicity.