Dr. Olsson on Differences Between LHRH Agonists and Antagonists in Prostate Cancer

Carl Olsson, MD, Integrated Medical Professionals, compares the efficacy of LHRH agonists with antagonists, which are commonly used to treat patients with prostate cancer.

The use of the LHRH analog has been around for a long time, Olsson explains. To think about the best way to develop an agent, it would be to develop an antagonist versus an agonist, he adds. This is because the majority of drugs are agonists. Though they are effective and lower testosterone, they also accelerate the testosterone first. The best way to do this would be through drug management in order to develop an antagonist at the outset. That was very different biochemically, which is why researchers dealt with agonists primarily.

There was 1 antagonist that did have efficacy, but the side effect profile was too high. There is a second antagonist, he adds, which is showing promise in the prostate cancer field.