Members Not already a member?> > HEART ATTACK VS.CANCER?NEWS HEART ATTACK VS.CANCER?_December 31, 2007_ Doctors are investigating whether low-dose aspirin could interfere with some prostate cancer treatments.Many older people take a daily baby aspirin to reduce their risk of a heart attack.A letter published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, doctors from Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the University of Connecticut describe a study of men taking hormone therapy for prostate cancer.Hormonal treatments suppress the testosterone that feeds prostate tumors, says Anthony D'Amico, a co-author of the letter and Dana-Farber's chief of genitourinary radiation oncology.Appears to play an important role in the way the body processes aspirin, D'Amico says.Testosterone, even a small dose of aspirin can be too much for the body to handle.In this study, 37% of men on aspirin had to stop taking one of their hormone treatments a drug called flutamide because of abnormal liver test results,pared with 13% of men who weren't using aspirin.Stopping hormones early is risky, D'Amico says, because it gives tumors a chance to grow.After following men for nearly eight years, he found that men who prematurely discontinued flutamide were 3.As likely to die as those whopleted all six months of treatment.D'Amico suggests that men talk to their doctors about whether it's safe to stop taking aspirin for six months while being treated with hormones.Otis Brawley, the American Cancer Society's chief medical officer, says it's too soon to change the way doctors treat prostate cancer patients, many of whom are older and at risk for heart disease.Isplex, because hormone therapy has been shown to increase the risk of heart disease.Says doctors need to study the drugs' relationship further in order to give the best advice.COPYRIGHT 2007 USA TODAY, A DIVISION OF GANNETT CO. Prostate Cancer Discussions MORE NEWS ON: , , , , , , CANCER NEWS CATEGORIES Cancer News Topics Cancer Specific News ACCESS OUR FEEDS ACCESS OUR PODCASTS Did You Know?Read more Netrin-1 receptor-deficient mice show enhanced mesocortical dopamine transmission and blunted behavioural responses to amphetamine
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