degeralix vs lupron

[Oatmeal2]

Hello,

Any thoughts on which ADT treatment is better? My husband received his first injection with Degeralix today to prevent the testosterone flare and next month the doctor is planning on a 3 month Lupron injection. From what I’ve been reading, it seems that the Degeralix may be better than Lupron with less side effects? He has to be on Adt for 24 months so I’m planning to ask the oncologist why he is choosing lupron for the future injections.

[Tall_Allen]

They are all about the same, unless there are pre-existing cardiac problems.

[LongevityAT]

Just finished 6 months of Firmagon (degeralix) injections. I'm guessing he is switching you to Lupron for convenience. Scheduling and receiving the Firmagon injection on a monthly basis got old in 6 months, can't imagine 24 months if there is a better option. Even ended up in the ER after one injection because the nurse injected into the muscle vs subcutaneous.

As TA says, if there are any existing cardiac issues, check with your Cardiologist first. Mine cleared me for either Lupron or Firmagon.

Otherwise, for 24 months, starting with Firmagon then switching to Lupron makes sense to me on many levels.

[Oatmeal2 in reply to LongevityAT]

Thanks for your reply.

[Lost_Sheep]

This article "Neoadjuvant Androgen Deprivation Therapy in Prostate Cancer" can be found

emedicine.medscape.com/arti...

It lists side effects, advantages and disadvantages of different ADT medications. Some physicians like their patients to be informed and participate in the decision-making. Some don't. Some patients like to participate in the process, some don't. I am one of the former groups of patients and like my physicians to be the same.

Good luck to you and your husband.

[tetech]

Degarelix now even has a oral version, I think you have to take that one everyday though. As long as they're injecting it correctly and you're not getting a lot of pain the degarelix is the Best and you'll live much longer....it's proven in the studies. The cardiovascular side effects are much reduced. For a very long-term ADT the Lupron could be preferred because you don't develop resistance to it as fast as the Degarelix. For a while Lupron was much cheaper because of $75 lupron from Canada. Kaiser cheeped out on me and wouldn't give me degarelix either. I had significant bone loss in 6 months but I did get a cure with salvage radiation in 2014. If you do get the injection site pain or your testosterone doesn't go below 25 ask your doctor to ask the company to send a nurse to do the next injection and she will train your doctor and his nurse free.

My dad was on Lupron for about 9 years and he ended up just getting his testosterone and PSA checked and after a couple years the 6-month Lupron shot lasted over a year for him. That was good because every time he got the Lupron he did get the testosterone surge, hip pain and a rise in the PSA. And this was despite using the cassidex 2 wks ahead as a testosterone surge reducer. Degarelix doesn't cause a surge.

[Oatmeal2]

thank you for your reply. Everything that I have read so far shows the Degarelix with an edge over the lupron with regard to side effects and quality of life score. I think that a study showed better PSA free and PSF free for the Degarelix than the lupron. I also found sn interesting article about the Degarelix suppressing FSH by 90 percent whereas lupron only partially suppresses FSH, and that may play a role in its efficacy. I also read about the micro surges even after numerous injections. As far as resistance, I thought that patients developed resistance to lupron faster than the Degarelix. I did see an article about that.

So far he has not had a bad reaction to the Degarelix injection. Some mild itching and slightly red. Only soreness to the touch. He is being treated at Sloan Kettering and the nurses seem very skilled at injecting the drug.