How Do 5-Alpha-Reductase Inhibitors Change PSA Density in Patients on Active Surveillance?
May 2024
in “The Journal of urology/The journal of urology”
TLDR 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors lower PSA density but higher PSA density indicates disease progression.
The study investigated the impact of 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (5ARIs) on PSA Density (PSAD) in 445 patients on active surveillance for prostate cancer, with 47 of them taking 5ARIs. Results showed that while 5ARIs decrease PSAD, patients who progressed to GG2+ disease or required treatment had significantly higher PSADs compared to those who did not progress. Specifically, median PSADs were 0.139 for those progressing to GG2+ and 0.190 for those needing treatment, versus 0.074 for non-progressors. The findings suggest that 5ARIs may help identify patients with clinically significant disease, though further data is needed to establish clinical PSAD cutoffs for biopsy in patients on 5ARIs.
View this study on auajournals.org →
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