Cancer accounts for 27.4 percent of deaths in China. (Photo : Getty Images)
A new research has revealed that males of old age that receive testosterone-suppressing therapy for prostate cancer might be connected to the increased risk of depression. The 78,000 Americans who were treated for prostate cancer at an earlier stage was the basis for this new research.
The new study was posted on the Journal of Clinical Oncology's official website, which discussed the androgen deprivation therapy and its connection to the increased risk of depression. The researchers who have submitted this study have found that among the patients who are given the therapy, seven percent of them developed depression in the next few years. This was compared to five percent of those who did not get the treatment, but still got clinical depression.
The senior author Dr. Paul L. Nguyen said that they have identified 78,552 men more than 65 years old with stage one to three prostate cancer using a database for their basis. They admit that their findings do not entirely prove that hormone therapy is at fault, but it does offer strong evidence. They also found out that those who had a longer treatment with the hormone therapy had a higher chance of getting depression.
The doctor revealed that there are some side effects from this treatment, which are gaining weight, getting tired easily and sexual dysfunction. The side effects that patients get from the hormone treatment might be the reason why some of them get clinical depression, he explained. He also added that it might be a direct effect of reduced testosterone levels on mood.
Nguyen advised that anyone who is trying to take hormone therapy must consider first the side effects that it might appear in a few years. He added that they must consult with their doctors first, so that they can both talk it out to come up with a better solution. In the past, this therapy was the best choice for patients having prostate cancer, but now some people have recognized the harm that it comes along with.
According to Fox News, for the prostate cancer cells to grow and spread out throughout the body, it will need testosterone. ADT is one of the common treatments known today, which deprives the cancer cells of testosterone.
Check out the hormone therapy video below:
