Comparison of Intermittent Androgen Deprivation Therapy With or Without Irradiation Recovery in Prostate Cancer Patients

This study is looking for men who have prostate cancer that has been confirmed by a biopsy. You must be at least 18 years old and generally healthy enough to participate in a study of this kind. You should have already received previous treatment for your prostate cancer, such as surgery or main radiotherapy.

For this study, the cancer can only have spread to a small number of lymph nodes in your pelvis (five or fewer), and these would have been found using special scans like FCH-PET or PSMA-PET. These spread spots must be in the lower part of your body, around your pelvis, not higher up or in your bones or other organs. If you’ve had hormone therapy before, it needs to have been at least a year ago, and your testosterone levels must have recovered to a certain point.

You also need to have what doctors call a 'biochemical relapse', which means your PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) blood test levels have started to rise again after your previous treatment, indicating the cancer may be returning or growing. You must be willing to follow all study instructions, attend appointments, and understand and sign an informed consent form. If you have a partner who could become pregnant, you'll need to use effective birth control during and for 12 months after the study treatment.

If you decide to take part in this study, the first step is a screening process to make sure you're suitable, which can happen up to three months before your treatment starts. Once you've given your written permission, you'll be randomly assigned to one of two groups. Neither you nor your doctor will get to choose which group you're in, similar to flipping a coin.

Both groups will receive the first dose of a hormone therapy called IADT on the day you're assigned to a group. This hormone therapy will last for six months in total. If you are in the group that also gets radiotherapy, you'll start that treatment about three months after your first hormone injection. The radiotherapy itself will also last for about three months. After the six-month treatment period, if your cancer hasn't worsened and your PSA level is low enough, you'll enter a non-treatment phase.

During this non-treatment phase, your PSA levels will be monitored. If your PSA starts to rise, you'll have regular scans every six months to check for any cancer progression. The study involves regular visits for blood tests, check-ups, and potentially scans. The total duration of your participation will depend on how your cancer responds.