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Finasteride Will Save Lives of Prostate Cancer
Victims, Says New Study
Feb. 28, 2005 - A new analysis shows the drug
finasteride will save lives if given to men to prevent prostate cancer.
Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer found in older men,
and is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men. A study in
2003, also found finasteride reduced cancer deaths but said men taking the finasteride had more erectile dysfunction and loss of interest in
sex. Those found to have prostate cancer in the 2003 study were more
likely to have a fast growing kind, which would be expected to be
more deadly.
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Drug Finasteride Shown to Reduce the Rate of Prostate Cancer
But Experts Question Whether it Should
be Routinely Recommended
June 25, 2003 -
Researchers have shown that giving men the drug finasteride will lower
their chance of developing prostate cancer by 25%. The study, which
appears in the New England Journal of Medicine online, reports
on the results of treating 9,060 men.
Click 6/25/03*
Prostate Cancer: More
Accurate Test, Longer Life Treatment Revealed in Two Studies
Feb. 18, 2005 – A simple
urine test may improve the diagnosis of prostate cancer and a new
treatment appears to prolong life for those stricken with this disease,
according to two new studies. This is the most common cancer for older
men, and 75 percent of all prostate cancer is found in men over 65.
Read more...
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The new analysis of data from the Prostate Cancer
Prevention Trial (PCPT), says that any possible increase in the
incidence of higher-grade tumors would be more than offset by an overall
reduction in the number of prostate cancer cases in the general
population.
The recent results from the PCPT represent a
milestone in cancer research, showing that prostate cancer could be
prevented through chemoprevention. The study found the commonly used
drug finasteride reduced the incidence of prostate cancer by 24.8
percent compared to a placebo. However, a possible increase in the
number of high-grade tumors in the trial prompted many to question
whether any benefits of the drug would be offset by an increase in
mortality related to the higher-grade tumors. No difference in mortality
was seen during the 7 years of PCPT.
To explore the problem, Joseph M. Unger, M.S. and a
team of researchers from the Southwest Oncology Group Statistical Center
at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA analyzed
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry data and
applied the results from the PCPT.
The results showed a net reduction in person-years
saved over ten years using finasteride even after taking into account an
increase in high-grade cancers. Using PCPT's 24.8 percent reduction in
new cases, the drug would save 316,760 person-years over ten years. An
absolute increase in 6.9 percent of cases with high-grade disease (the
difference seen in the PCPT) would still mean 262,567 person-years
saved.
Based on this model, the authors conclude, "even if
finasteride is found to potentiate the growth of high-grade tumors, this
analysis shows that the potential detrimental effects of an increased
rate of cases with high grade Gleason score would be substantially
outweighed by a reduction in incidence."
The study will be published in the April 1, 2005
issue of CANCER (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/cancer-newsroom),
a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society,
Article: "Estimated Impact of the Prostate
Cancer Prevention Trial on Population Mortality," Joseph M. Unger, Ian
M. Thompson, Jr., Michael LeBlanc, John J. Crowley, Phyllis J. Goodman,
Leslie G. Ford, Charles A. Coltman, Jr., CANCER; Published Online:
February 28, 2004 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.20919); Print Issue Date: April 1,
2005.
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