Dr. Neil Baum, MD, Urologist and Clinical Associate Professor of Urology, Tulane Medical School, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Dorothea Torti, Stanford University, CA, USA.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in North America. One of the treatment options is medical castration using LHRH agonists to reduce the production of testosterone by the Leydig cells in the testes. One of the side effects of this class of agents is hot flashes, which can be very disabling and can affect a man's quality of life. This article will discuss the pathophysiology of hot flashes and the treatment of this common side effect with natural and synthetic female hormones, as well as non-hormonal therapies.
Key words: prostate cancer, hot flashes, LHRH agonists, hormone therapy.