Asthma inhalers ‘up prostate cancer risk’
August 17th, 2010 Posted in prostate cancer risksA new study conducted by a team of scientists in Melbourne, Australia, has found that drugs used by thousands of men to treat asthma may increase the risk of prostate cancer. According to the study, among this group, the risk of cancer increases by up to 70 per cent, reports the Daily Mail.
The study has shown that men who regularly take inhaled steroids to keep their asthma under control are almost 40 per cent more likely than men without asthma to develop a tumour. Those who regularly use another type of inhaler - a bronchodilator - to relieve wheezing are 36 per cent more at risk of the disease. But the biggest danger appears to be among men with severe asthma who frequently need treatment with steroid tablets or injections.
The results have been published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.