Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer Increases Fatal Heart Attacks
Men 65 and older who are treated with androgen suppression therapy have an earlier onset of fatal heart attacks
Boston, MA – Androgen suppression therapy (AST) is an increasingly popular treatment method for men, especially in older men, who have been newly diagnosed or have recurrent prostate cancer. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have now shown that the use of AST is associated with an earlier onset of fatal heart attack in men 65 and older who are treated with AST for at least six months. These findings appear in the Journal of Clinical Oncology on June 10, 2007.
“Hormonal therapy for six and possibly as little as three months can cause fatal heart attacks to occur sooner in men age 65 or older,” said Anthony D’Amico, MD, chief of Genitourinary Radiation Oncology at BWH and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School.
D’Amico and colleagues analyzed 1,372 men from three randomized trials who received radiation therapy and AST for varying lengths of time for the treatment of prostate cancer and followed up with the men regularly for a period of at least five years or until death. Researchers found that in men 65 or older who were at risk for having a fatal heart attack, many of them were observed to experience that heart attack sooner if they had received AST for six months when compared to men 65 or older who had not received AST.
Previous research has shown that AST has negative side effects associated with it such as anemia, weight gain, insulin resistance, increased admissions to the hospital for cardiac events and other symptoms consistent with metabolic syndrome, however when used in conjunction with radiation therapy to treat prostate cancer, it has also been shown to decrease mortality.
“Until further research is done to explore this connection, men 65 or older who are planning to undergo radiation therapy and AST should have a cardiovascular evaluation prior to the treatment,” D’Amico said.
Please contact BWH Media Relations for more information at bwhmediarelations@partners.org or (617) 534-1600.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) is a 747-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare System, an integrated health care delivery network. BWH is committed to excellence in patient care with expertise in virtually every specialty of medicine and surgery. The BWH medical preeminence dates back to 1832, and today that rich history in clinical care is coupled with its national leadership in quality improvement and patient safety initiatives and its dedication to educating and training the next generation of health care professionals. Through investigation and discovery conducted at its Biomedical Research Institute (BRI), BWH is an international leader in basic, clinical and translational research on human diseases, involving more than 800 physician-investigators and renowned biomedical scientists and faculty supported by more than $400M in funding. BWH is also home to major landmark epidemiologic population studies, including the Nurses' and Physicians' Health Studies and the Women's Health Initiative. For more information about BWH, please visit www.brighamandwomens.org.
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