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According to a new, the daily pill Donald Trump takes to combat baldness cuts the risk of developing prostate cancer by a quarter. But the new study suggests they could also become the first medication to prevent prostate cancer before it strikes, in the same way as statins are used to prevent heart attacks.
Researchers at the University of Texas today said that men at high risk of prostate cancer – such as those who elevated levels of ‘PSA’ proteins in blood test – should be prescribed the drugs to lower their chances of developing the disease. Study leader Dr Ian Thompson, whose team have tracked nearly 19,000 men since 1997, said: ‘Finasteride is safe, inexpensive, and effective as a preventive strategy for prostate cancer.
‘Doctors should share these results with men who get regular prostate-specific antigen [PSA] tests that screen for the presence of prostate cancer. ‘The drug will have its greatest effect in this group of men.’ More than 3million prescriptions of Finasteride are already issued every year by the NHS in England – and many more are bought privately to tackle hair loss. In the US, about 8million a year take it for prostate issues, and 1.2million for hair loss.
The drug is prescribed for enlarged prostate, a benign but very common problem which causes repetitive night-time visits to the bathroom. The drug works by blocking the action of hormones such as testosterone. Finasteride is however an effective treatment for men with a non-cancerous enlarged prostate and its use in this setting should not change as a result of this research.’