Evaluation of Patients with Localized Prostate Cancer in whom Long-Term Successful Androgen Deprivation Therapy was Ceased

We evaluated the clinical course of patients with localized prostate cancer in whom long-term successful androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) was ceased. Study subjects were 24 patients with stage B prostate cancer who were initially treated with ADT for a median duration of 93 months. The median age at the cessation of ADT was 84 years. The median nadir serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level was 0.022 ng/ml. The median duration of follow-up from the cessation of ADT was 31 months. During follow-up, five patients showed PSA elevation of ≥2 ng/ml from the nadir. Serum testosterone level was tested in 20 patients, and five showed testosterone recovery ≥0.5 ng/ml. Seven patients died from diseases other than prostate cancer, but there were no deaths caused by prostate cancer. This study demonstrated that long-term successful ADT for localized prostate cancer could be ceased with adequate follow-up evaluation.