Table 1
December 2021
TLDR Androgen suppression therapy (AST) doesn't significantly lower bladder cancer risk, but using finasteride, a type of AST, might reduce it. AST decreases recurrence-free survival but doesn't affect overall survival or progression-free survival. More research is needed to understand AST's benefits.
This systematic review and meta-analysis incorporated 18 studies involving 414,007 male patients to examine the effect of androgen suppression therapy (AST) on bladder cancer incidence and patient outcomes. The results indicated that AST did not significantly lower the risk of bladder cancer. However, a subgroup analysis revealed that patients taking finasteride, a type of AST, had a reduced risk of bladder cancer. AST was found to decrease recurrence-free survival in bladder cancer patients, but it did not significantly affect cancer-specific survival, overall survival, or progression-free survival. The authors concluded that more research is needed to fully understand the benefits of AST, particularly in different types of bladder cancer and across different racial groups.