Faculty Opinions Recommendation of Effect of 1 mg/Day Finasteride on Concentrations of Serum Prostate-Specific Antigen in Men With Androgenic Alopecia: A Randomised Controlled Trial
February 2007
in “
Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature
”
TLDR Taking 1mg of finasteride daily for hair loss can lower PSA levels by 40-50%, so to keep PSA effective as a cancer screening tool, the PSA value should be doubled during treatment.
The 2007 study by D'Amico AV and Roehrborn CG, published in The Lancet Oncology, demonstrated that both high and low doses of finasteride, a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, significantly lower prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. The study found that PSA levels decreased by 40-50% in men taking 1mg of finasteride daily for androgenic alopecia (hair loss). This has implications for prostate cancer surveillance, as PSA levels also decrease in men receiving 5mg/day finasteride for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Therefore, to maintain the effectiveness of PSA as a cancer screening tool, the PSA value while on finasteride treatment (whether 1mg or 5mg) should be doubled.