Patient self-injection: a new approach to administering luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogues.

Abstract

To investigate the feasibility and advantages of self-injection of a depot dose of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) analogue in patients with prostate cancer. Twenty patients (mean age 70.9 years, range 53-85) with locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer were recruited from urology clinics and, using a defined protocol, were taught to perform self-injection of a depot LHRH analogue (Prostap SR or Prostap 3, leuprorelin acetate, Wyeth Laboratories, Berks, UK). Patients were then followed for 1 year. Of the 20 patients, 11 successfully learned to use self-injection and administered injections for the duration of the study. Ten of the patients chose self-injection and continued to self-inject after the end of this study. This pilot study of 20 patients showed that it is feasible for a selected group of patients to be taught self-injection of an LHRH analogue, and that some patients prefer this mode of drug administration.