In a novel study US health officials have warned that a class of drugs designed to improve the symptoms of an enlarged prostate gland in fact raises the odds of receiving a more serious form of prostate cancer. The drugs in this group comprise GlaxoSmithKline’s Avodar and Mecrk & company’s Proscar.
The US health watchdog FDA-Food and Drug Administration revised the labels on all such drugs known as 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, after analyzing two large studies. It was found in randomized controlled study that daily use of these drugs over the period of several years diminished the odds of receiving lower-risk forms of prostate cancer.
It was also made it more likely that patients would get a high-grade prostate cancer, which grows and spreads more speedily. The threat seems to low, but GPs should be responsive to this safety information and consider the known benefits against the potential risks when continuing the treatment, stated FDA in its website.
Clinically the drugs are called as finasteride and dutasteride and are used to treat benign prostate enlargement. It is a common condition in males over the age of forty. The popular drug Propecia for male baldness also includes a smaller dose of finasteride.
According to FDA estimation about five million male patients were prescribed for the drugs from 2002 to 2009. They highlighted that the benefits in treating enlarged prostates still outweighed any risks. Another class of medicines known as alpha-blockers can also be used to treat symptoms of enlarged prostates without mounting the threat of cancer.