Two major trials have been performed to determine the effect of 5α-reductase inhibitors on subsequent diagnoses of prostate cancer. Both trials showed that high alcohol intake significantly increased prostate cancer risk among men allocated to the treatment arms. The recommendation that patients eliminate alcohol when taking 5α-reductase inhibitors seems appropriate.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Fowke, J. H., Howard, L., Andriole, G. L. & Freedland, S. J. Alcohol intake increases high-grade prostate cancer risk among men taking dutasteride in the REDUCE trial. Eur. Urol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eururo.2014.01.037.
Andriole, G. L. et al. Effect of dutasteride on the risk of prostate cancer. N. Engl. J. Med. 362, 1192–1202 (2010).
Jin, M. et al. Alcohol drinking and all cancer mortality: a meta-analysis. Ann. Oncol. 24, 807–816 (2013).
Thompson, I. M. et al. The influence of finasteride on the development of prostate cancer. N. Engl. J. Med. 349, 213–222 (2003).
Gong, Z. et al. Alcohol consumption, finasteride, and prostate cancer risk: results from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial. Cancer 115, 3661–3669 (2009).
Mukamal, K. J. Overview of the risks and benefits of alcohol consumption. UpToDate [online], (2014).
Freedland, S. J. et al. Statin use and risk of prostate cancer and high-grade prostate cancer: results from the REDUCE study. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 16, 254–259 (2013).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The author declares that he is a past steering committee member on the REDUCE trial.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gomella, L. Alcohol, cancer and 5α-reductase inhibitors—is there a link?. Nat Rev Urol 11, 253–254 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2014.90
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrurol.2014.90