A trial looking at intermittent versus continuous hormone therapy for prostate cancer that has continued to grow but has not spread (Intercontinental)

This trial compared intermittent hormone therapy with continuous hormone therapy for prostate cancer that had continued to grow after radiotherapy. This trial was supported by Cancer Research UK.

Prostate cancer is often treated with hormone therapy. But at some point, prostate cancer usually becomes resistant to hormone therapy and the cancer continues to grow. This can happen after months or even years of treatment.

Doctors thought that if you had hormone therapy on and off (intermittently) rather than all the time (continuously), it may work just as well and may also reduce side effects.

The main aims of this trial were to compare intermittent and continuous hormone therapy to see the difference between how long the men lived and how it affected their quality of life.