NATION IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Drugs Seen Prostate Cancer Survival Aid

Advanced prostate cancer patients treated with two drugs live an average of 10 to 15 months longer than those who undergo castration instead, a study shows. The study, reported by European scientists at a meeting of the American Urological Assn. in Washington, confirms similar findings by a National Cancer Institute study in 1989. Castration has been a routine method of treating advanced prostate cancer. The European and U.S. drug studies used two drugs, flutamide and goserelin acetate, which inhibit the biological effects of the male sex hormones.