Many men with prostate cancer receive hormone therapy, which prevents testosterone [the main male sex hormone]. This is because many prostate cancers thrive on testosterone.

By depriving them of testosterone, prostate cancer cells "starved" and died. This treatment is called androgen suppression therapy. In general, men with invasive prostate cancer and men with prostate cancer can enlarge prostate glands, and these patients benefit the most from androgen suppression therapy.

Almost all beneficial treatments are at risk. Doctors must always weigh the benefits and risks of treatment. Of course, the potential of androgen suppression therapy to prolong the lives of patients with prostate cancer and even increase the likelihood of their cure cannot be ignored. Despite this, side effects of androgen suppression therapy include loss of libido, anemia, osteoporosis, weight gain, decreased muscle mass, increased bad cholesterol [LDL] and decreased good cholesterol [HDL].

Altering LDL and HDL by androgen suppression therapy may increase the risk of coronary artery disease and heart attack. Therefore, data from three randomized studies conducted in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand analyzed this possibility.

In addition to radiation therapy for the prostate, 1,372 [1,372] men who received androgen suppression were followed for at least five years. The researchers found that men who were 65 years of age or older who received androgen suppression for six months had a heart attack that sometimes lasted two and a half years.

Does this mean that men should not receive androgen suppression therapy, especially in groups where the benefits of hormone therapy outweigh the risks? It is not; instead, it means that men who benefit from hormonal therapy to avoid death from prostate cancer but have a risk factor for coronary heart disease should be referred to a cardiologist.

Then, before starting hormone therapy, men can be evaluated and even treated for heart disease. They can then undergo androgen suppression therapy without adverse effects on their heart.

In addition, the good news is that new research is being developed to determine the optimal duration of androgen suppression therapy. Through intermittent hormonal therapy, such as 6 months of androgen suppression therapy and 6 months of rest, men may achieve the same survival endpoint and are less toxic than persistent androgen suppression therapy.

Prostate cancer treatment and heart disease was originally published on Spring