Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), also called androgen suppression therapy or is a form of treatment in prostate cancer, which basically aims to slow prostate cancer growth by blocking the effect of androgens e.g. testosterone.

Such therapy is mainly used for treating men with intermediate- and high-risk localized prostate cancer in combination with radiotherapy ^1,2.

Effects on imaging:

mpMRI

• shrinkage of prostate volume ^3-7

• loss of T2 signal ^3,5

• increase of ADC values in prostate cancer ^5,7

• decrease of ADC values of benign prostatic tissue ^5-7

• reduced DCE of prostate cancer ^4,6

PET/CT

• reduced visibility of hormone-sensitive prostate cancer in PSMA PET/CT ⁸