Toremifene Followed by Radical Prostatectomy in Treating Patients With Stage I or Stage II Prostate Cancer

RATIONALE: Androgens can stimulate the growth of prostate cancer cells. Hormone therapy using toremifene may fight prostate cancer by reducing the production of androgens. PURPOSE: Randomized phase II trial to study the effectiveness of toremifene followed by radical prostatectomy in treating patients who have stage I or stage II prostate cancer.

OBJECTIVES: * Compare the percent of high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN) present in the radical prostatectomy tissue (excluding the luminal area) of patients with stage I or II adenocarcinoma of the prostate treated with toremifene vs observation alone followed by radical prostatectomy. * Compare the absolute and relative changes in HGPIN in patients treated with toremifene vs observation alone. * Compare biomarkers (including DNA ploidy and nuclear morphology; Ki67 and MIB-1 expression; bcl-2 expression; frequency of cells expressing apoptotic bodies; microvessel density; and intraprostatic testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and estradiol) in the radical prostatectomy tissue of patients treated with toremifene vs observation alone. * Compare changes from baseline in serum biomarkers, particularly PSA and hormone profiles (testosterone, DHT, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone, androstanediol-glucuronide, estradiol, and sex hormone binding globulin), in patients treated with toremifene vs observation alone. * Compare the safety of toremifene in these patients. * Determine the relationships among pairs of biomarkers, biomarker changes, and outcome measures, including toxicity of toremifene and posttreatment HGPIN in these patients. * Determine the relationship between HGPIN or biomarker responses and antiandrogen germline CAG repeat length polymorphism in patients treated with toremifene. * Compare the tumor volume, margin status, and pT stage in patients treated with toremifene vs observation alone. OUTLINE: This is a randomized, open-label, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to participating center and baseline high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (none vs more than 0% up to 10% vs more than 10%). Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. * Arm I: Patients receive oral toremifene daily for 3-6 weeks in the absence of unacceptable toxicity. * Arm II: Patients undergo observation alone. Patients in both arms then undergo radical prostatectomy. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 78 patients (52 for arm I, 26 for arm II) will be accrued for this study at a rate of 6-7 patients per month.