Study: Hormone Therapy Can Up Risk of Osteoporosis and Bone Fractures

A hormone therapy often used by men to treat advanced prostate cancer can accelerate bone mineral loss and lead to osteoporosis and bone fractures, according to Australian researchers.

This type of treatment, called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), blocks the production of testosterone, which stimulates the growth of prostate cancer. By blocking testosterone, ADT stops or slows the growth.

But reporting in the journal Cancer, the researchers said they found that bone mineral density measurements in some studies were up to 17 percent lower in men treated with hormone therapy than in men not receiving the therapy.

In other studies, men suffered bone loss of up to 8 percent from the mid-spine and up to 6.5 percent from the neck of the femur -- the thigh bone -- after only 12 months of androgen deprivation therapy, the researchers reported.

They found that fractures were more common among men receiving the hormonal therapy than among men not receiving ADT.

The researchers suggested, however, that biphosphonates such as pamidronate and zoledronate -- drugs that prevent bone breakdown -- may prevent bone loss or even increase bone mass in some prostate cancer patients on ADT.

Other Sources: Cancer