Antiandrogen Monotherapy May Increase Dementia Risk in Prostate Cancer Patients

A study published in JAMA Network Open that compared dementia risk among prostate cancer patients receiving different types of androgen deprivation therapy noted a correlation between antiandrogen monotherapy and dementia and Alzheimer's disease, reports Docwire News . The researchers examined 23,651 men with prostate cancer, and slightly less than a third did not receive androgen deprivation therapy. Half were administered gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, 3.7 percent received orchiectomy, and 17.1 percent got antiandrogen monotherapy. Over a median follow-up of 3.46 years, 1,525 subjects were diagnosed with dementia. Those receiving antiandrogen monotherapy, versus those who did not, had a greater risk of dementia and Alzheimer's. In comparison with patients not receiving androgen deprivation therapy, dementia risk did not largely deviate for those getting GnRH agonists or orchiectomy. "GnRH agonist usage reduces testosterone and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels," the researchers explained. "Future studies should assess whether the suppressed LH counteracts the biological effect of low testosterone on cognitive decline."