Prostate cancer drug may be useful for prevention

doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7405.9-a

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Janice Hopkins Tanne

New York

The American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute have hailed the trial of a drug for prostate cancer as a milestone for cancer prevention, although the treatment can increase the aggressiveness of the cancer in some cases. And some commentators have questioned its use as a preventive, given the trial results.

Light micrograph of a carcinoma of the male prostate gland

Credit: MICHAEL ABBEY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Finasteride (Proscar), which is manufactured by Merck, reduced the incidence of prostate cancer by nearly 25% in a large, randomised, controlled trial and reduced symptoms of benign prostatic hypertrophy.

But prostate cancers that developed during the course …