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KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON. Conventional medicine wisdom has it that
high levels of male sex hormones (androgens) are associated with
an increased risk of prostate cancer and a more rapid tumour
growth. This has led to the use of chemical or physical
castration in an attempt to reduce natural androgen production and
thereby deprive the tumour of the androgen it supposedly requires
to keep growing. Unfortunately, the effect of castration is often
temporary and subsequent tumours tend to be more virulent than the
original one.
Now Dr. Richmond Prehn, MD of the University of Washington
challenges the assumption that high androgen levels are a risk
factor for prostate cancer. Dr. Prehn points out that androgen
levels decline with age whereas prostate cancer incidence rises
sharply. He suggests that declining androgen levels may not only
lead to benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), but may also be the
initiator of uncontrolled cell growth which may ultimately lead to
cancer. He further suggests that "androgen supplementation
beginning early in the middle years might, among other possible
benefits, largely prevent prostate cancer." Dr. Prehn cautions
that androgen supplementation may be contra-indicated in older men
who already have the seeds of prostate cancer. He also suggests
that an alternating regimen of androgen deprivation and androgen
supplementation should be evaluated as a therapy for prostate
cancer.
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