Enhancement of Intermittent Androgen Ablation Therapy by Finasteride Administration in Animal Models

The study explored the potential enhancement of intermittent androgen ablation therapy for prostate cancer by using finasteride, an inhibitor of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone conversion. The research aimed to address the challenge of slowing the transition of prostate cancer from an androgen-dependent to an androgen-refractory state. It was found that testosterone was more effective than dihydrotestosterone in promoting differentiation of prostatic epithelial cells while being less effective in stimulating proliferation. The hypothesis was that finasteride could enhance the therapy by maintaining testosterone's beneficial effects while reducing the proliferation risk associated with dihydrotestosterone. The study established conditions for delivering testosterone and finasteride in nude mice to test this hypothesis.