THURSDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Anticoagulant (AC) therapy, particularly aspirin, is associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) among men treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiotherapy (RT), according to a study published online Aug. 27 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
To examine the correlation between AC use and the risk of PCSM, Kevin S. Choe, M.D., from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and colleagues analyzed data from 5,955 men in the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor (CaPSURE) database diagnosed with localized adenocarcinoma of the prostate and treated with RP or RT.
The researchers found that 2,175 of the men (37 percent) were receiving ACs (warfarin, clopidogrel, enoxaparin, and/or aspirin). The risk of PCSM was significantly lower in the AC group compared with the non-AC group (3 versus 8 percent at 10 years), as were the risks of disease recurrence and bone metastasis. The reduction in PCSM was most pronounced in patients with high-risk disease (4 versus 19 percent at 10 years). Regardless of treatment modalities (RT or RP), benefit from AC was seen. PCSM reduction was primarily associated with aspirin, with aspirin use independently associated with a lower risk of PCSM on multivariable analysis (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.43; P = 0.02).
"AC therapy, particularly aspirin, was associated with a reduced risk of PCSM in men treated with RT or RP for prostate cancer," the authors write. "The association was most prominent in patients with high-risk disease."
CaPSURE is supported by an unrestricted educational gift from Abbott Laboratories.
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