Anti-balding drug may cut prostrate cancer odds

Orlando, February 25: In a rather unconventional linkup, Finasteride, a drug approved to treat male pattern baldness can also cut the risk of developing prostate cancerdefinedefine by as much as 25 percent.

Guidelines issued by medical groups - American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Urological Association suggested this possibility.

However, the drug typically proves beneficial for men above 55 who are screened regularly and show no symptoms of prostate cancerdefinedefine. "The recommendations apply only to men who had regular screenings and had a PSA of less than 3.0 nanograms per milliliter" main author of the study, Barnett Kramer of the National Institutes of Health emphasized.

Results of 15 clinical trials, including the large Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) of over 18,000 men aged 55 and older formed the basis of the current recommendations.

Evidence suggested that healthy men those taking a finasteride daily for seven years had a 25 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those taking placebo. In addition, the most potent tumors were now remarkably easier to diagnose.

However, potential side effects including incontinence, breast tenderness, lack of libido and impotence might creep up, Kramer warn. But the adverse effects tend to fade once the drug is withdrawn, he added.

Currently, Finasteride marketed under the brand name Propecia is used as an anti-balding drug. In addition, its more condensed version, Proscar, is used to correct prostate enlargement symptoms.

Prostate cancer, the cancer of the prostate gland in the male reproductive system, is the second-leading cancer killer among men, after lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society estimates, prostate cancer adds nearly 218,000 new cases with over 28000 deaths in the United States each year.

The recommendations are likely to feature in the March issues of the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the Journal of Urology.

Similar drug, GlaxoSmithKline’s Avodart (dutasteride) prescribed for swollen prostates, is currently undergoing clinical trials to check its potency in preventing prostate cancer.