ADT in prostate ca increases risk of bone and heart complications

Prostate cancer patients who undergo androgen deprivation therapy have an increased chance of developing bone- and heart-related side effects compared to patients who do not undergo ADT, according to an analysis in Cancer online (April 29, 2009).

Researchers from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston found that men treated with ADT had an increased risk of bone fractures and heart-related death, although the absolute risk for both was still low.

For bone fractures, there was a 23% increased risk compared to prostate cancer patients who did not undergo ADT.

The absolute risk of fracture among ADT-exposed men was 7.2 per 100 person years.

For heart-related death, the increased risk among ADT-exposed men was 17% higher compared to other prostate cancer patients. However, because the baseline risk is low, the increase translated to an additional one-to-two deaths per 1,000 men who received ADT. Lead author Lockwood G. Taylor, MPH, and colleagues also noted a link between ADT and diabetes.