Wellness Corner

Men who are dealing with prostate cancer may undergo a variety of different aspects of treatment. One of the most common aspects is to use androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) to prevent the male hormones from continuing to feed the prostate cancer. One of the major drawbacks of this treatment is that it has been shown to weaken the bones and to lead to more bone fractures in aging men. A new study reports that the bone drug denosumab can be successfully used to strengthen the bones in these males in order to reduce fractures while still allowing for full treatment of the prostate cancer.

The study was an intensive three-year study which proved that men who took the drug were able to achieve a significant increase in their bone mineral density despite the fact that were using ADT therapy to prevent the spread of prostate cancer. This is comparable to similar studies completed in women regarding the use of the drug to increase bone mineral density. This could prove to be an effective addition to prostate cancer treatment regimens in the future.

Question of the Day: What should be done to reduce bone fractures in men who are going through hormone therapy for treatment of prostate cancer?

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