This observational study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine (2012, PMID: 22789024) evaluated 54 otherwise healthy young men who developed persistent sexual side effects after discontinuing finasteride, a 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor used for male pattern baldness. Despite an average of 14 months off the medication, 96% of participants reported ongoing
A review published in Prescrire International (2013) evaluated first-line treatments for metastatic prostate cancer, focusing on androgen suppression therapies like orchiectomy and gonadorelin agonists, which provide significant pain relief for about 80% of patients with bone metastases. However, the effect of these therapies on overall survival remains uncertain. Nonsteroidal antiandrogen
A review published in Lancet Oncology (2008) examined treatments for locally advanced prostate cancer, including prostatectomy, external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) combined with gonadorelin agonists, and androgen suppression. The study found that prostatectomy has a 2% to 16% cancer-specific mortality rate over five years, but with significant side effects like
This systematic review evaluated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of various androgen suppression therapies for advanced prostate cancer, comparing monotherapy options such as orchiectomy, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists, and antiandrogens to combined androgen blockade (CAB), while also examining the timing of therapy initiation (immediate vs. deferred). The study found that
This meta-analysis evaluated the 10-year outcomes of the TROG 03.04 RADAR trial, which compared 6 months versus 18 months of androgen suppression (AS) combined with radiotherapy (RT), with or without zoledronic acid (ZA), in men with locally advanced prostate cancer. The study found that extending AS to 18 months significantly
