The Finasteride Riddle

January 2014 in “ ScholarWorks - University of Montana (University of Montana) ”

Stewart Justman

finasteride prostate cancer PSA testing Propecia

TLDR Finasteride reduces low-grade prostate cancer but may not be beneficial overall.

The Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial tested finasteride for reducing prostate cancer incidence and found it decreased low-grade prostate cancer but seemingly increased high-grade disease, leading to the FDA not approving it for chemoprevention. Follow-up data suggested concerns about finasteride's risks might have been unfounded, but it did not demonstrate a life-saving benefit. Although finasteride could potentially reduce overdiagnosis in PSA testing, other associated harms questioned its utility even in this secondary role.

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