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Hormone Drugs Might Not Raise Heart-Related Deaths in Prostate Patients
Posted 6 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Dec. 6 – Men with prostate cancer who are being treated with hormone therapy do not appear to be at increased risk of dying from heart disease, according to a large new review of evidence. Hormone therapy called "androgen deprivation therapy" is a basic of prostate cancer treatment. Several previous studies found that the therapy might increase the risk of cardiac events or even death from prostate cancer. Growing concern led to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning and a consensus statement from multiple medical societies, said Dr. Paul Nguyen. But his new research – an analysis of eight randomized clinical trials of more than 4,000 patients, followed for about a decade – reached a different conclusion. "For the majority of men with aggressive prostate cancer, androgen deprivation therapy was associated with better survival and no increased risk of dying from ... Read more
Related support groups: Prostate Cancer, Casodex, Degarelix, Bicalutamide, Firmagon, Cetrotide, Ganirelix, Abarelix, Antagon, Cetrorelix, Nilandron, Flutamide, Eulexin, Nilutamide, Plenaxis
Cancer Patients Should Ask Doctors to Use Simple Terms
Posted 28 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 28 – Cancer patients are often faced with many difficult-to-understand treatment choices that can have serious side effects and even mean the difference between life and death. That's why it's crucial that patients insist doctors use plain language in explaining the options, advised Angela Fagerlin, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a researcher at the U-M Comprehensive Cancer Center. "People are making life and death decisions that may affect their survival and they need to know what they're getting themselves into. Cancer treatments and tests can be serious. Patients need to know what kind of side effects they might experience as a result of the treatment they undergo," Fagerlin said in a university news release. She and her colleagues outlined a number of tips to help patients get the information they need ... Read more
Related support groups: Cancer, Methotrexate, Provera, Breast Cancer, Lupron, Accutane, Depo-Provera, Prostate Cancer, Tamoxifen, Femara, Arimidex, Lupron Depot, Medroxyprogesterone, Claravis, Gleevec
For Some Prostate Cancer Patients, Combo Treatment Improves Survival
Posted 13 Jul 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, July 13 – For men who have prostate cancer that's considered "intermediate risk," radiation plus four months of hormone therapy appears to improve survival, a new study finds. This combination of treatments, however, was not effective in men with either low-risk prostate cancer or advanced disease, the researchers said. Men with high-risk cancer need long-term hormone therapy. The hormone therapy is known as androgen deprivation therapy. It's designed to reduce the levels of male hormones (androgens) in the body, since they can stimulate the growth of prostate cancer cells. "For patients with early, localized cancer of the prostate who were treated with radiation therapy, [by] adding short-term androgen deprivation therapy, we improved their cure rates and increased their chance of living 10 years from 57 percent to 62 percent," said lead researcher Dr. Christopher U. Jones, ... Read more
Related support groups: Lupron, Prostate Cancer, Lupron Depot, Zoladex, Casodex, Lupron Depot 3.75 mg, Leuprolide, Eligard, Trelstar, Vantas, Goserelin, Trelstar LA, Lupron Depot-PED, Degarelix, Bicalutamide
Common Prostate Cancer Treatment Linked to Bone Decay
Posted 8 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Oct. 8 – A common prostate cancer treatment called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is associated with bone decay, according to a new study. The therapy suppresses or blocks the production of male sex hormones that contribute to the growth of prostate cancer. Currently, about 600,000 prostate cancer patients in the United States are being treated with ADT. In the small 12-month study, Australian researchers examined 26 prostate cancer patients being treated with ADT. The investigators found evidence that the men had "structural decay of cortical (hard outer shell) and trabecular (spongy inner mesh) bone," lead study authors Emma Hamilton and Dr. Mathis Grossmann, of the University of Melbourne, explained in a news release from the Endocrine Society. "Sex steroid deficiency induced by ADT for prostate cancer results in microarchitectural decay. Bone fragility in these men may ... Read more
Related support groups: Lupron, Prostate Cancer, Lupron Depot, Zoladex, Casodex, Lupron Depot 3.75 mg, Vantas, Leuprolide, Eligard, Trelstar, Goserelin, Lupron Depot-PED, Trelstar LA, Viadur, Degarelix
Experts Issue Warning on Prostate Hormone Therapy
Posted 1 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Feb. 1 – Men with prostate cancer and the physicians who treat them are being warned that the androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) commonly used against the malignancy might increase the risk of heart attack and cardiac death. "There is a substantial amount of data demonstrating that ADT adversely affects traditional cardiovascular risk factors, including serum lipoproteins, insulin sensitivity and obesity," according to an advisory published online Feb. 1 in Circulation by a group of experts from the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and the American Urological Association. The warning is guarded, saying that risks have not been found in all studies. "But we think that physicians treating patients with localized and metastatic prostate cancers as well as patients ought to realize that there are significant risks associated with the use of hormone therapy," said ... Read more
Related support groups: Lupron, Prostate Cancer, Lupron Depot, Zoladex, Casodex, Lupron Depot 3.75 mg, Leuprolide, Eligard, Vantas, Goserelin, Trelstar LA, Lupron Depot-PED, Degarelix, Bicalutamide, Supprelin LA
Heart, Bone Problems May Follow Prostate Cancer Treatment
Posted 27 Apr 2009 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, April 27 – Though proven effective, treating prostate cancer with the testosterone-lowering treatment known as androgen deprivation therapy may raise men's risk for developing bone fractures and fatal cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests. The likelihood of developing either side effect remains low, the researchers noted. But the study shines fresh light on the question of how best to weigh the potential benefits of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) against the potentially serious complications that can ensue. "It is important to point out that these adverse outcomes due to ADT are all preventable, so it's up to a patient's doctor to be vigilant of changes in either cardiovascular or skeletal health that might develop as a result of the therapy," said the study's lead author, Lockwood Taylor, a doctoral candidate in the division of epidemiology and disease control at ... Read more
Related support groups: Prostate Cancer, Zoladex, Casodex, Eligard, Trelstar Depot, Eulexin, Plenaxis, Nilandron