prostate-report.org

Hormone therapy does not appear to increase cardiac deaths in prostate cancer patients

Since the male hormones called androgens can accelerate the development of prostate cancer, reducing their activity is a standard part of treating the disease. Most commonly this is done with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRH) that block the production of all sex hormones. GnRH agonist therapy is routinely administered to men whose cancer has spread beyond the prostate gland, and its use in patients whose tumors appear confined to the prostate is becoming more common.

An earlier report from a Harvard Medical School team found that men with localized prostate cancer who received GnRH agonist therapy had a greater risk of developing diabetes or cardiovascular disease than patients not receiving hormonal treatment.

Recently, a study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has concluded that treating prostate cancer patients with drugs that block hormonal activity does not appear to increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

At the same time, researchers warn that the absence of an increase in cardiovascular mortality does not exclude the possibility that GnRH agonists increase non-cancer deaths through other mechanisms.