Episode 310: Pharmacology 101: Androgen Receptor Inhibitors and Antiandrogens The Oncology Nursing Podcast

Episode 310: Pharmacology 101: Androgen Receptor Inhibitors and Antiandrogens
“The things that I think creep up are things that unfortunately are quite common, and that’s hot flashes. I’ve had patients say that those are just overwhelming, and they want to go off therapy because of it. So I think talking about pharmacologic management, as well as lifestyle management, of hot flashes, are equally as important,” Rowena “Moe” Schwartz, PharmD, BCOP, FHOPA, professor of pharmacy practice at James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about androgen receptor inhibitor and antiandrogen drug classes.
Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 
Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by May 3, 2026. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Learning outcome: Learners will report an increase in knowledge related to androgen receptor inhibitors and antiandrogens.
Episode Notes 
Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  Oncology Nursing Podcast episodes: Pharmacology 101 series Episode 242: Oncology Pharmacology 2023: Today’s Treatments and Tomorrow’s Breakthroughs Episode 194: Sex Is a Component of Patient-Centered Care Episode 113: Manage Cancer-Related Hot Flashes With ONS Guidelines™ ONS Voice articles: Oncology Drug Reference Sheet: Darolutamide Oncology Drug Reference Sheet: Relugolix Genetic Disorder Reference Sheet: HOXB13 Sexual Considerations for Patients With Cancer Nursing Considerations for Prostate Cancer Survivorship Care Exercise Before ADT Treatment Reduces Rate of Side Effects ONS books: Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice (second edition) Clinical Guide to Antineoplastic Therapy: A Chemotherapy Handbook (fourth edition) Oncology Nursing Forum articles: An Exploratory Study of Cognitive Function and Central Adiposity in Men Receiving Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer Management of Androgen Deprivation Therapy–Associated Hot Flashes in Men With Prostate Cancer Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles: Hot Flashes: Clinical Summary of the ONS Guidelines™ for Cancer Treatment-Related Hot Flashes in Women With Breast Cancer and Men With Prostate Cancer Hot Flashes: Common Side Effect Genitourinary Distress: Common Side Effect ONS Guidelines™ and Symptom Interventions Fatigue Hot Flashes Oral Anticancer Medication ONS Huddle Cards: Altered Body Image Hormone Therapy Sexuality ONS Cancer of the Genitourinary Tract Learning Library Cancer Research article: Studies on Prostatic Cancer. I. The Effect of Castration, of Estrogen and of Androgen Injection on Serum Phosphatases in Metastatic Carcinoma of the Prostate To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.
To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library.
To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org.
Highlights From This Episode
“The androgen deprivation therapy is either orchiectomy, which we tend not to use as much anymore; LHRH agonists, meaning that they act like LHRH…and then now LHRH antagonists are taking an increased role because we now have an oral drug that is an LHRH antagonist.” TS 3:44
“When you give an LHRH agonist, you initially have an increase in testosterone, but over time you cause a decrease in the ability of th