Health Experiment

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -
August 8, 2008

A patch that delivers estrogen
through the skin may prove useful in treating advanced cases of
prostate cancer, preliminary research suggests.

In a study of 13 prostate cancer patients who were given
the Fem7 estrogen patch, UK researchers found that the therapy
substantially lowered the men’s testosterone levels.

Because testosterone helps fuel the growth and spread of
prostate tumors, men with more-advanced prostate cancer
commonly receive drugs called LHRH analogues that block the
body’s production of the hormone.

However, these drugs can also have side effects, including
osteoporosis and heart problems.

Estrogen patches have the potential to lower testosterone
levels with a lesser risk of such side effects, according to
the researchers on the new study, led by Dr. Ruth E. Langley of
Imperial College London.

These early results, Langley noted, at least confirm that
estrogen patches lower patients’ testosterone to the desirable
“castrate” levels.

“Therefore these patches show promise as a potential
therapy for men with prostate cancer,” Langley told Reuters
Health.

The findings, published in the journal BJU International,
are based on 13 men who are part of a larger trial designed to
compare estrogen patches with LHRH therapy in treating prostate
cancer. The researchers followed the effects of the Fem7 patch
on the men’s testosterone levels over 12 weeks.

The question of whether the patch should hold a place in
the prostate cancer treatment arsenal requires further study,
according to Langley.

“Transdermal estrogen therapy,” the researcher said, “is a
novel and potentially cost-effective approach to androgen
(testosterone) deprivation therapy.”

“Large long-term studies are required to assess its effect
on prostate cancer and side effect profile compared to LHRH
therapy.”