WASHINGTON, DC USA (UroToday.com) - Men on active surveillance (AS) for prostate cancer who were treated with dutasteride had less anxiety and better QOL according to Dr. Fleshner and colleagues in this talk.
Their data was from REDEEM, a multicenter, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial. The study included males 48-82 yrs, with diagnosed low-risk, localized prostate cancer, Gleason score ≤6, and PSA <11 ng/mL. Participants were randomized 1:1 to dutasteride 0.5 mg or placebo once daily for 36 months. All men underwent a 12-core prostate biopsy at 18 months and 36 months. For-cause biopsies were conducted for a clinically significant medical trigger. Time to prostate cancer progression was defined as time from study treatment start to either primary prostate cancer therapy or time to pathological progression. 302 subjects were randomized; 155 in the placebo and 147 in the dutasteride groups, respectively. Dutasteride impact on patient anxiety, QOL, and urologic symptoms, was assessed.
They found that dutasteride significantly delayed progression of prostate cancer compared with placebo. Dutasteride subjects’ MAX-PC scores improved, while placebo subjects’ worsened from baseline to 36 months. This difference was driven by the fear of recurrence subscale favoring dutasteride. Although QOL deteriorated for both groups, it was better for dutasteride at 18 months. Only the Emotional Well-Being subscale showed statistically significant difference at 18 months. Difference in IPSS scores favored Dutasteride at 18 and 36 months. Reduced PSA levels secondary to dutasteride likely relieve patient anxiety when on AS.
Presented by Neil Fleshner, et al. at the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting - May 14 - 19, 2011 - Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC USA
Reported for UroToday by Christopher P. Evans, MD, FACS, Professor and Chairman, Department of Urology, University of California, Davis, School of Medicine.
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