For decades, millions of men with early prostate cancer have been placed on drug therapy to suppress their production of testosterone, despite such significant side effects as impotence, diabetes and bone loss. Now, reports [s]The New York Times[/s], a large new analysis has concluded that so-called androgen deprivation therapy does not extend the lives of these patients.
Meanwhile research indicates that men who have a vasectomy have a greater risk of developing the most aggressive form of prostate cancer, reports [s]The Guardian[/s]. [b]Harvard[/b] scientists analysed the medical records of nearly 50,000 men and found that those who had the operation were 10% more likely to be diagnosed with the disease. The study revealed a stronger link with the most serious forms of prostate cancer, with rates of advanced or lethal disease rising by 20% in men who had the procedure. The danger seemed to be highest among men who had a vasectomy before the age of 38.
[link url=http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/14/study-discounts-testosterone-therapy-for-early-prostate-cancer/?_php=true&_type=blogs&emc=edit_th_20140715&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=60640071&_r=0]Full report in The New York Times[/link]
[link url=http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1887061]JAMA abstract[/link]
[link url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jul/11/vasectomy-prostate-cancer-study]Full report in The Guardian[/link]
[link url=http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/early/2014/07/02/JCO.2013.54.8446]Journal of Clinical Oncology abstract[/link]