A study looking at the side effects of hormone therapy for prostate cancer

Cancer type:

Prostate cancer

Status:

Results

Phase:

Phase 1

This study looked at whether hormone therapy for prostate cancer may increase risk of heart disease and stroke. This trial was supported by Cancer Research UK.

Doctors often treat prostate cancer with hormone therapy. This is a safe treatment and it works well but it does have some side effects.

Earlier research had suggested that hormone therapy might lead to body changes that could increase the risk of heart disease, strokes, bone fractures and diabetes. In this study, the researchers used blood tests and scans to look for these changes in men who had started hormone therapy for prostate cancer.

The aim of the study was to learn more about how hormone therapy may affect blood sugar Open a glossary item , blood pressure , body fat, cholesterol and bone density .

Summary of results

The study found that the results of tests for blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and bone density did not seem to be affected by hormone therapy for prostate cancer.

45 men took part and had various tests

Before they started treatment
After one month of treatment
After 3 months
A year later

Some of their test results were different 1 month after starting treatment, but they had returned to normal by the time they had the tests at 3 months.

As this was a small study, the researchers think it is something that needs to be looked at more.

We have based this summary on information from the team who ran the trial. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists (peer reviewed Open a glossary item ) but may not have been published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team. We have not analysed the data ourselves.