One in six American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, but a new study shows a medication that\u2019s already on the market may help prevent this common form of cancer.<\/p>\n
Propecia: Not just for hair loss<\/strong><\/p>\n Propecia, commonly prescribed to men to treat male pattern baldness, is showing promising results in reducing the risk of prostate cancer. The study followed 18,800 middle-aged men, half of whom took Propecia for seven years while the other half took a placebo. When researchers checked in with patients 18 years later, they found men who took Propecia were 30 percent less likely to have any form of prostate cancer, and 43 percent less likely to have slow-growing forms of prostate cancer.<\/p>\n Getting tested<\/strong><\/p>\n There is a debate about the pros and cons of prostate screening. Some health officials are making a push to get more men (aged 50 and older) to schedule regular tests. Other organizations say the benefits of regular tests aren\u2019t proven.<\/p>\n Many men aren\u2019t keen on the invasive nature of the test, which combines a blood test that looks for prostate-specific antigen or PSA levels, with a rectal exam.<\/p>\n Researchers believe taking Propecia might be a good alternative for men who aren\u2019t willing to get regular testing.<\/p>\n \u201cPropecia won’t save lives, but it will make the living of lives much higher in quality,” Ian Thompson, a urologic oncologist at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio tells Men\u2019s Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n “You can achieve, in a man who’s taking Propecia, equivalent survival to the man having regular PSA testing,” while being far less likely that he’ll be diagnosed with cancer.<\/p>\n