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Commonly used drug may slow prostate cancer

01/26/12

A drug that is commonly used to treat men with enlarged prostates was recently revealed to also delay the growth of prostate cancer.

The drug, dutasteride, fights prostate cancer by interfering with the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, which is associated with the cancer.

The study, which was published in the January 24 online edition of The Lancet, included 302 men between the ages of 48 and 82 with low-risk localized prostate cancer. The men were assigned to take either a dutasteride pill or a placebo once a day for three years.

Results showed that treatment with dutasteride significantly delayed the growth of prostate cancer, revealing men who were treated with the drug were less likely to have cancer detected in their final biopsy.

"I think the study has profound implications for us," Dr. Leonard G. Gomella, of Jefferson University in Philadelphia, told MedPage Today. "We are looking for better ways to manage men on active surveillance for prostate cancer. I think the fact that some men in the dutasteride arm had a reduction in the amount of prostate cancer is very encouraging."

With more than 240,000 men expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, experts recommend investing in life insurance.

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