# Flutamide

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/flutamide/  
OnCo record `flutamide` (Treatment). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Flutamide was the first tablet to block testosterone at the prostate cancer cell. It is taken with an injection that stops testosterone production, but newer drugs have largely replaced it.

## Summary

Flutamide was approved in 1989 for use with LHRH agonists in stage B2 to C prostate cancer (with radiotherapy) and in stage D2 metastatic disease, introducing combined androgen blockade. Trials in the 1980s and 1990s showed at best a small survival gain over castration alone, and bicalutamide, then enzalutamide, apalutamide and darolutamide superseded it because of three-times-daily dosing, diarrhoea and a boxed warning for hepatotoxicity including fatal liver failure. It is still listed for antiandrogen flare cover at the start of LHRH agonist therapy.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: nci-list; generic
- Brand: Eulexin (historic)
- Modality: Non-steroidal antiandrogen (first generation)
- Mechanism: Competitive antagonist of the androgen receptor; its active metabolite hydroxyflutamide blocks androgen binding and nuclear translocation in prostate cells.
- Approvals: US 1989: Locally advanced (B2 to C) and metastatic (D2) prostate cancer in combination with an LHRH agonist

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flutamide
- US label (DailyMed): https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=flutamide
- NCI drug page: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/flutamide

## Connected records

- drugs: [Bicalutamide](https://onco.cc/drugs/bicalutamide/), [Nilutamide](https://onco.cc/drugs/nilutamide/)
- cancers: [Prostate cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/prostate/)
- technologies: [Androgen deprivation & AR pathway inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/androgen-deprivation/)
- targets: [Androgen receptor](https://onco.cc/targets/androgen-receptor/)
- companies: [Merck & Co. (MSD)](https://onco.cc/companies/merck/)
- trials: [DART 01/05 GICOR](https://onco.cc/trials/dart-01-05-gicor/), [Flutamide, Suramin, and Hydrocortisone in Treating Patients With Prostate Cancer](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00002881/), [Hormone Therapy in Treating Patients With Rising PSA Levels Following Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00003653/), [Hormone Therapy Plus Radiation Therapy With or Without Combination Chemotherapy in Treating Patients With Prostate Cancer](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00004054/), [Hormone Therapy With or Without Surgery or Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Prostate Cancer](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00002633/), [Prostate Radiation Therapy or Short-Term Androgen Deprivation Therapy and Pelvic Lymph Node Radiation Therapy With or Without Prostate Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With a Rising Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) After Surgery for Prostate Cancer](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00567580/), [Radiation Therapy With or Without Androgen-Deprivation Therapy in Treating Patients With Prostate Cancer](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00936390/), [RTOG 92-02](https://onco.cc/trials/rtog-9202/), [SPCG-7/SFUO-3](https://onco.cc/trials/spcg-7/), [Standard Systemic Therapy With or Without Definitive Treatment in Treating Participants With Metastatic Prostate Cancer](https://onco.cc/trials/nct03678025/), [Triptorelin, Flutamide, and External-Beam Radiation Therapy or External-Beam Radiation Therapy Alone in Treating Patients With Stage II or Stage III Prostate Cancer](https://onco.cc/trials/nct00104741/), [Two Studies for Patients With High Risk Prostate Cancer Testing Less Intense Treatment for Patients With a Low Gene Risk Score and Testing a More Intense Treatment for Patients With a High Gene Risk Score, The PREDICT-RT Trial](https://onco.cc/trials/nct04513717/)

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