News About your Prostate

May 4, 2010

Pass this along to a man you

care about!

HSI

eAlert

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getting this?

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e-mail because our records indicate that you signed up for a free

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Dear Reader,

Men, if your doctor recommends a drug called Avodart to help lower your

risk of prostate cancer, he's going to offer some evidence that might

seem convincing.

But let's not rush into anything

Avodart is designed to treat enlarged prostate (also known as BPH, or

benign prostatic hyperplasia). In a recent New England Journal of

Medicine study, about 3,300 men at high risk of prostate cancer took

Avodart for four years. About 3,420 men--also at high risk--took a

placebo.

Compared to placebo, the relative risk of any level of prostate cancer

was reduced by nearly 23 percent in the Avodart group.

So based purely on that number, your doctor might encourage you to take

Avodart if you're at high risk of prostate cancer. And keep in mind

that every man between the ages of 50 and 75 is considered high risk.

But let's look a little deeper before you fill that prescription...

In years one through

four, nearly all subjects underwent a needle biopsy

Among 3,299 men in the

Avodart group, 220 tumors were detected with moderate to high Gleason

scores (the system that rates the aggressiveness of tumors)

Among 3,407 men in the

placebo group, 233 tumors were detected with moderate to high Gleason

scores

During years three and

four, 12 tumors with high Gleason scores were discovered in the Avodart

group, but only one in the placebo group

So when it comes to

aggressive tumors, Avodart doesn't appear to reduce risk at all.

And then there were the side effects: Sexual dysfunction was

significantly higher in the Avodart group, and--even more important to

know--subjects in that group were nearly twice as likely to experience

heart failure compared to placebo.

--------------------------

The doctor will see you now...

--------------------------

At this point, any man who's still on the fence about using this

expensive drug to prevent prostate cancer should consider a second

opinion from an experienced urologist. Someone like Patrick Walsh, M.D.

Dr. Walsh is currently a Distinguished Service Professor of Urology at Baltimore's

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where he served as Urologist-in-Chief

for 30 years. In other words, when it comes to man-plumbing, Dr. Walsh

knows his stuff.

An editorial by Dr. Walsh appears in the same NEJM issue as the Avodart

study. And to get the full gist, you'll need to know that "dutasteride"

is the generic name for Avodart, and "finasteride" is the generic name

for Proscar, another popular BPH drug.

Dr. Walsh: "Dutasteride

and finasteride do not prevent prostate cancer but merely temporarily

shrink tumors that have a low potential for being lethal, and they do

not reduce the risk of a positive biopsy in patients who have an

elevated PSA level."

And just last year, in the journal Prostate Cancer Discovery, Dr. Walsh

had this to say about finasteride: "Men will believe that it prevents

cancer, will be pleased that their PSA levels fall, and will not

understand the potential danger they're in--of undiagnosed high-grade

disease."

In a recent interview with Medscape Oncology, Dr. Walsh said his 2009

comments about finasteride also apply to dutasteride.

Speaking specifically

about the Avodart study, he said the results showed, "there was a 23%

reduction in low-grade tumors that the patients would never have known

they had. Does this sound like an indication to take a pill with sexual

side effects that costs $4 a day?"

If Dr. Walsh is unimpressed with the Avodart study results, there's no

reason you or your doctor should be impressed.

To start receiving your

own copy of the HSI e-Alert, visit:

http://clicks.hsibaltimore.com//t/AQ/AAF07A/AAF7Yw/C4U/Ag/Ab63CA/uL7b

Or forward this e-mail to a friend so they can sign-up to receive their

own copy of the HSI e-Alert.

Tap into the minds of

other health-conscious readers like yourself at the new HSI health

forum:

http://www.healthiertalk.com

Sources:

"Effect of Dutasteride on the Risk of Prostate Cancer" New England

Journal of Medicine, Vol. 362, No. 13, 4/1/10, content.nejm.org

"Dutasteride Results Reignite Debate about Prevention of Prostate

Cancer" Zosia Chustecka, Medscape, 3/31/10, medscape.com

"Finasteride: Are the Risks Worth it?" Prostate Cancer Discovery, Vol.

5, Winter 2009, urology.jhu.edu

"Multivitamins May Cut Breast Cancer Risk" Charlene Laino, WebMD Health

News, 4/19/10, webmd.com

The information in this e-mail is offered as a general guideline, not

one-size-fits-all medical advice. Talk to your doctor before making any

changes in your personal health care regimen.

Healthier News, LLC. Thank you for your interest in the Health Sciences

Institute of Baltimore. We do not allow republication of our full

newsletters and articles. However, you can post a portion (no more than

90 words, 1-2 paragraphs) of our content with a live link back to our

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are quoting from.

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May 4, 2010

Hi Grannie,

I consider you to be an extremely intelligent person. I am one of those men stratling the fence so to speak. The intire issue tends to scare the s__t out of me. I have a several medical problems. And on some of them they just happen to be those listed as one in a million and another as one in three hundred thousand.so even the percentages scare because I as of this week have started on avodart. I am going to be going through some of those nice comfortable test that determine your problems. Please dont stop with your posting I try to read everyone because they are helpful. Oh another thing that scares me is the mention of heart failure. I have had 2 heartattacks within 40 minutes apart and almost pronounced dead. Bill--- On Tue, 5/4/10, Grannie <GrannieFox wrote:

Grannie <GrannieFox News About your Prostate"1 @" , "1 MedicalConspiracies@googlegrou" <MedicalConspiracies (AT) googl (DOT) com>, "1 Paranormal_Research@" <Paranormal_Research >Tuesday, May 4, 2010, 2:33 AM

Pass this along to a man you care about!

HSI eAlert

Why am I getting this?

You have received this e-mail because our records indicate that you signed up for a free subscription to the HSI eAlert eLetter.

Dear Reader, Men, if your doctor recommends a drug called Avodart to help lower your risk of prostate cancer, he's going to offer some evidence that might seem convincing. But let's not rush into anything Avodart is designed to treat enlarged prostate (also known as BPH, or benign prostatic hyperplasia) . In a recent New England Journal of Medicine study, about 3,300 men at high risk of prostate cancer took Avodart for four years. About 3,420 men--also at high risk--took a placebo. Compared to placebo, the relative risk of any level of prostate cancer was reduced by nearly 23 percent in the Avodart group. So based purely on that number, your doctor might encourage you to take Avodart if you're at high risk of prostate cancer. And keep in mind that every man between the ages of 50 and 75 is considered high risk.

But let's look a little deeper before you fill that prescription. ..

In years one through four, nearly all subjects underwent a needle biopsy

Among 3,299 men in the Avodart group, 220 tumors were detected with moderate to high Gleason scores (the system that rates the aggressiveness of tumors)

Among 3,407 men in the placebo group, 233 tumors were detected with moderate to high Gleason scores

During years three and four, 12 tumors with high Gleason scores were discovered in the Avodart group, but only one in the placebo group

So when it comes to aggressive tumors, Avodart doesn't appear to reduce risk at all. And then there were the side effects: Sexual dysfunction was significantly higher in the Avodart group, and--even more important to know--subjects in that group were nearly twice as likely to experience heart failure compared to placebo. ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -- The doctor will see you now... ------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -- At this point, any man who's still on the fence about using this expensive drug to prevent prostate cancer should consider a second opinion from an experienced urologist. Someone like Patrick Walsh, M.D. Dr. Walsh is currently a Distinguished Service Professor of Urology at Baltimore 's Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where he served as

Urologist-in- Chief for 30 years. In other words, when it comes to man-plumbing, Dr. Walsh knows his stuff. An editorial by Dr. Walsh appears in the same NEJM issue as the Avodart study. And to get the full gist, you'll need to know that "dutasteride" is the generic name for Avodart, and "finasteride" is the generic name for Proscar, another popular BPH drug. Dr. Walsh: "Dutasteride and finasteride do not prevent prostate cancer but merely temporarily shrink tumors that have a low potential for being lethal, and they do not reduce the risk of a positive biopsy in patients who have an elevated PSA level." And just last year, in the journal Prostate Cancer Discovery, Dr. Walsh had this to say about finasteride: "Men will believe that it prevents cancer, will be pleased that their PSA levels fall, and will not understand the potential danger they're in--of undiagnosed high-grade

disease." In a recent interview with Medscape Oncology, Dr. Walsh said his 2009 comments about finasteride also apply to dutasteride. Speaking specifically about the Avodart study, he said the results showed, "there was a 23% reduction in low-grade tumors that the patients would never have known they had. Does this sound like an indication to take a pill with sexual side effects that costs $4 a day?" If Dr. Walsh is unimpressed with the Avodart study results, there's no reason you or your doctor should be impressed.

To start receiving your own copy of the HSI e-Alert, visit: http://clicks. hsibaltimore. com//t/AQ/ AAF07A/AAF7Yw/ C4U/Ag/Ab63CA/ uL7b Or forward this e-mail to a friend so they can sign-up to receive their own copy of the HSI e-Alert.

Tap into the minds of other health-conscious readers like yourself at the new HSI health forum: http://www.healthie rtalk.com Sources: "Effect of Dutasteride on the Risk of Prostate Cancer" New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 362, No. 13, 4/1/10, content.nejm. org "Dutasteride Results Reignite Debate about Prevention of Prostate Cancer" Zosia Chustecka, Medscape, 3/31/10, medscape.com "Finasteride: Are the Risks Worth it?" Prostate Cancer Discovery, Vol. 5, Winter 2009, urology.jhu. edu "Multivitamins May Cut Breast Cancer Risk" Charlene Laino, WebMD Health News, 4/19/10, webmd.com The information in this e-mail is offered as a general guideline, not one-size-fits- all medical advice. Talk to your doctor before making any changes in your personal

health care regimen.

Copyright ©2010 by Healthier News, LLC. Thank you for your interest in the Health Sciences Institute of Baltimore. We do not allow republication of our full newsletters and articles. However, you can post a portion (no more than 90 words, 1-2 paragraphs) of our content with a live link back to our homepage (www.hsibaltimore. com), or a link to the specific article you are quoting from.

Before you hit reply to send us a question or request, please visit here http://clicks. hsibaltimore. com//t/AQ/ AAF07A/AAF7Yw/ C4c/AQ/Ab63CA/ fgg-

Got 60 seconds? Learn how you can receive our complete encyclopedia "HSI's 100 Greatest Underground Cures" absolutely FREE. http://clicks. hsibaltimore. com//t/AQ/ AAF07A/AAF7Yw/ AAEtYg/AQ/ Ab63CA/S9pA

If you want to end your HSI e-Alert subscription or you need to change your e-mail address, please follow the instructions below. Your changes will be effective immediately. However, if you do not follow the instructions below and simply hit reply instead, we may not receive your request and cannot assure you that it will be completed.

To manage your subscription by mail or for any other subscription issues, write us at: Order Processing Center Attn: Customer Service P.O. Box 925 Frederick, MD 21705 USA