Can tamoxifen or anastrozole prevent bicalutamide-induced gynecomastia and breast pain in prostate cancer?
Paul Sieber
Correspondence Urological Associates of Lancaster, 2106 Harrisburg Pike, Suite 200, Lancaster, PA 17604-3200, USA
Email psieber610@aol.com
This article has no abstract so we have provided the first paragraph of the full text.
The use of adjuvant androgen deprivation to improve overall and disease-free survival for locally advanced prostate cancer has been supported by several recent studies.1, 2, 3 Data from the bicalutamide Early Prostate Cancer (EPC) Program indicate that bicalutamide monotherapy is a viable option in patients wishing to avoid traditional medical or surgical castration. Bicalutamide monotherapy has been demonstrated to preserve a better quality of life with respect to physical capacity, social functioning, emotional wellbeing, vitality, and sexual function. In addition, it has been shown to preserve bone density compared with medical castration.4 A significant limiting factor in the utility of bicalutamide monotherapy, however, is gynecomastia. Approximately 70% of men on bicalutamide monotherapy develop breast pain, gynecomastia, or both. Approximately 17% of patients in the EPC study discontinued treatment due to gynecomastia or breast pain.
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