Can We Do Better for Men on ADT?

He sat across from me, clearly uncomfortable, wiping his brow and shifting in his chair. “These hot flashes—I never thought they’d be part of my cancer treatment. They’re unbearable.”

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men, and its treatment often involves androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), a cornerstone for slowing disease progression. By depleting, inhibiting, or blocking androgen—the hormone that drives prostate cancer growth—ADT extends lives. Yet, it also brings a host of side effects, with hot flashes being among the most difficult for patients to endure.

These sudden, intense waves of heat can disrupt sleep, impair focus, and create emotional distress. Many patients tell me they feel blindsided by how much these symptoms impact their quality of life. Managing them effectively remains a challenge, especially when conventional options—cooling the home, cold compresses, SSRIs, or black cohosh—often fall short.

Women facing menopause know this struggle well, and the approval of Veozah, a non-hormonal treatment for hot flashes, offers them new hope. But it raises an important question: could this or similar therapies one day be an option for men on ADT? With so few effective treatments available, this could be a game-changer for symptom management in prostate cancer care.

How many of your patients undergoing ADT describe hot flashes as their most significant side effect? Are we doing enough to address this challenge? As we advance in precision medicine and patient-centered care, perhaps it’s time to rethink how we approach symptom management—for our prostate cancer survivors.

Let’s start the conversation. How can we do better for the men who rely on us during this life-changing journey?