Prostate Cancer Treatment May Cause Bone Loss

A study of prostate cancer patients has shown that men treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRH-a) may have a higher fracture risk. The study was conducted by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (New York, NY, USA) and the University of Pittsburgh (PA, USA). The results were reported in the June 2001 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, published by the Endocrine Society.

The researchers compared the bone mineral density (BMD), biochemical markers of bone turnover, and body composition in 60 men over the age of 60 suffering from prostate cancer with 197 controls of similar age. The subjects were required to have taken GnRH-a for at least six months and were excluded if they had any disease or were taking any drugs that would impact their bone mineral metabolism. The study showed that the men who took GnRH-a to treat prostate cancer experienced significantly lower BMD in the spine, hip, forearm, and total body. These men also had a higher percent total body fat and lower percent lean body weight.

"We already know that testosterone, a form of androgen, is essential for the maintenance of bone mass in men, but our study has determined that androgen deprivation therapies, such as gonadotropin-releasing hormones, put prostate cancer patients at risk for decreases in bone mass and increases in bone turnover, which can result in an increased risk of fracture,” said Dr. Aubrey Stoch, an endocrinologist and researcher at Merck Research Laboratories who served as the lead investigator.




Related Links:
The Endocrine Society
Univ. of Pittsburgh