A Slippery Preventive Slope

    January 2009 in “ The Hastings Center Report ”
    Stewart Justman
    TLDR Finasteride reduces prostate cancer risk but may increase high-grade cancer risk.
    The article discussed the preventive use of finasteride for prostate cancer, highlighting its ability to reduce cancer incidence by 25% but also raising concerns about its safety. The Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial revealed that while finasteride decreased the frequency of prostate cancer treatments, it might increase the risk of high-grade cancer, though this could be due to detection bias. Despite these concerns, some experts recommended offering finasteride to all men undergoing screening to reduce overtreatment. However, the article questioned whether this approach was beneficial for the population, given the unresolved safety issues and the potential for overdiagnosis due to PSA screening.
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