Abstract
Purpose of Review. We examine the role of chemotherapeutic agents in the prevention of prostate cancer and analyze the phase III clinical trials investigating the application of these agents for prostate cancer. Recent Findings, There are two reported phase III randomized clinical trials which evaluate the role of chemotherapeutic agents in the prevention of prostate cancer. The Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) originally revealed that finasteride reduced the risk of prostate cancer by approximately 25% versus placebo but patients who received finasteride had a greater incidence of high grade tumors. Recent updates of the PCPT confirmed that finasteride reduces the risk of clinically significant prostate cancer, including high-grade tumors, primarily due to improvement the performance characteristics of PSA and prostate biopsy to improve cancer detection. The SELECT trial evaluated the roles of selenium and vitamin E in the prevention of prostate cancer, but found no benefit of either supplement, Chemoprevention of prostate cancer is now possible with finasteride. An ancillary benefit includes an enhancement in detection of high grade, potentially fatal, prostate cancer.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Evidence-Based Urology |
| Publisher | Wiley-Blackwell |
| Pages | 236-242 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781405185943 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 9 2010 |
Keywords
- 5-alpha reductase inhibitor
- Chemoprevention
- Finasteride
- Prostate cancer
- Selenium
- Vitamin E
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine(all)