TUESDAY, Oct. 19, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- The drug toremifene, currently used to treat breast cancer, shows promise as a preventative for prostate cancer, claims a study presented Oct. 19 at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Seattle.
The study found that 12 months of treatment with the drug reduced the incidence of prostate cancer in men believed to be at high risk for the disease.
The study included 514 cancer-free men with high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), characterized by abnormal cells in the lining of the prostate ducts. Early research suggests that men with high-grade PIN will develop prostate cancer within 10 years. But further research is required to confirm these findings.
The men received either placebo or daily oral doses of 20 milligrams, 40 milligrams, or 60 milligrams of toremifene. The men's prostates were checked after six and 12 months. The results showed that 24.4 percent of the men taking the 20-milligram dose were diagnosed with prostate cancer, compared with 31.2 percent of those taking the placebo.
Among those who completed the 12 months of treatment, the men taking the 20-milligram dose of the drug had a 48 percent reduction in the incidence of prostate cancer compared to the men taking the placebo.
"For men with high-grade PIN, the prospect of developing prostate cancer is a very real possibility," Dr. Mitchell S. Steiner, chief executive officer with GTx Inc., said in a prepared statement. GTx makes and markets toremifene.
"With no effective treatment options available, doctors and patients often feel defenseless against the onset of prostate cancer. Fortunately, these results offer a promising new preventive approach to prostate cancer treatment," Steiner said.
More information
The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more about prostate cancer.
