(March 31, 2010 - Insidermedicine)

A drug used to treat symptoms associated with having an enlarged prostate also reduces the risk of developing prostate cancer among high risk men, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Risk factors for prostate cancer include:

•    Increasing age

•    Being African American

•    Having a first-degree relative with the condition

Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis randomly assigned nearly 7,000 men aged 50 to 75 with elevated levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), an indicator of an increased risk for prostate cancer, to treatment with dutasteride, also known as Avodart, or a placebo. The men all underwent a biopsy of their prostate at the outset of the study to ensure they did not have prostate cancer. They then had repeated prostate biopsies over a 4-year period to determine who would develop the disease.

As expected, men taking dutasteride were 77% less likely to suffer from acute urinary retention, a condition associated with an enlarged prostate, than those on placebo. But the men taking the medication were also nearly 23% less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Late in the study, men taking dutasteride who did develop tumors in their prostates were less likely to have highly aggressive forms of prostate cancer.

Today’s research highlights the benefits of dutasteride for preventing prostate cancer among men at high risk for the condition.