Researchers analyze overall survival rate of prostate cancer patients treated with melatonin

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Feb 11 2021

Oncotarget recently published "Melatonin increases overall survival of prostate cancer patients with poor prognosis after combined hormone radiation treatment" which reported that a retrospective study included 955 patients of various stages of prostate cancer who received combined hormone radiation treatment from 2000 to 2019. Comprehensive statistical methods were used to analyze the overall survival rate of PCa patients treated with melatonin in various prognosis groups.

The overall survival rate of PCa patients with favorable and intermediate prognoses treated or not treated with melatonin was not statistically significantly different.

In the poor prognosis group, the median overall survival in patients taking the drug was 153.5 months versus 64.0 months in patients not using it.

In a multivariate analysis, melatonin administration proved to be an independent prognostic factor and reduced the risk of death of PCa patients by more than twice.

The multicomponent antitumor effect of melatonin is fully realized and clearly demonstrated in treatment of PCa patients with poor prognosis with a set of unfavorable factors of the tumor progression.

Melatonin is the main hormone of the pineal gland."

Dr. Vladimir N. Anisimov, The N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology

Melatonin is most widely used in clinical practice to treat hormone-dependent tumors, and primarily in the combined treatment of breast cancer.

Some possible points of inhibition of tumor growth by melatonin included activation of T helper type 1; increased production of several cytokines; inhibition of angiogenesis; reduced expression of the VEGF receptors; activation of apoptosis in tumor cells; and a decrease in telomerase activity.

The results of the use of melatonin drugs in palliative treatment of patients with end-stage prostate cancer are shown.

Thus, the assessment of long-term results of wide clinical use of melatonin in the combined treatment of patients with prostate cancer of various risk groups is an urgent and relevant task.

The aim of the study was to improve the effectiveness of treatment of patients with prostate cancer by long-term use of melatonin drugs after a course of combined hormone-radiation treatment.

The Anisimov Research Team concluded in their Oncotarget Research Paper that "the results of our study are in agreement with the data on favorable antitumor effect melatonin treatment of patients with advanced cancer of various localization, mainly in the breast, uterus, colon, etc., .

Taking into consideration the optimistic conclusions obtained in our work, based on large clinical material, it is advisable to conduct prospective randomized studies with an assessment of survival rates in patients with PCa of various prognosis groups."