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 study on finasteride, originally aimed at reducing prostate cancer incidence, revealed a paradox: it decreased low-grade prostate cancer but seemingly increased high-grade disease. Due to these mixed outcomes, the FDA did not approve finasteride for cancer prevention. Follow-up data suggested that concerns about finasteride's risks might have been overstated, yet it did not demonstrate a reduction in mortality. Although finasteride could potentially aid in reducing overdiagnosis in PSA testing, other associated harms questioned its utility even in this secondary role.

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