Cancer treatments can be very effective at shrinking tumours, but their side effects can cause wellness issues in other parts of our body. Prostate cancers are sometimes treated with hormone therapy that results in brittle bones, but research is suggesting that a common drug could help men overcome these problems.
Cancer and bone health
When we get diagnosed with prostate cancer, a common treatment is to receive androgen deprivation therapy. This reduces the production of testosterone, which is a hormone that tumours feed off in order to grow. Cutting the levels in our body can then shrink growths. Unfortunately, as men we need this hormone to build strong bones and when it’s depleted our wellbeing can be affected and we may develop osteoporosis. In fact, figures from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre show that in a recent study by the institute just nine per cent of men had normal bone mass levels following two years of androgen deprivation therapy.
New medication
Further research from the medical centre shows that when men undergoing this treatment were given alendronate their bone mineral mass grew in their spine by 4.9 per cent and in their hip by 2.1 per cent. The men in the study had an average age of 71-years and were given weekly treatments of the medication. This drug is usually prescribed for women who suffer from the condition, but researchers from the institute explain that the study reveals it could also benefit men. Figures show that men in the study who did not take the medication did not see a rise in bone mass, in fact they saw losses in their spine of 1.3 per cent and hip density also declined by 0.7 per cent. The clinicians point out that approximately 230,000 men in the US get prostate cancer every year, so routinely prescribing alendronate could benefit the bone wellness of many.
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