Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial PCPT

Considerable interest in preventing prostate cancer exists and several large chemoprevention trials are sponsored and ongoing by the National Cancer Institute. The first large chemoprevention trial in prostate cancer, the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT), began in 1993 and randomized 18,881 men older than 55 years with a low risk of prostate cancer (PSA = 3 ng/mL) to receive 5 mg finasteride daily (a 5-a-reductase inhibitor) or placebo to determine if inhibition of DHT synthesis in the prostate for a prolonged period (7 years) would lead to a decreased incidence of prostate cancer. " Finasteride is currently used in the treatment of BPH. 

A major concern associated with clinical trials designed to evaluate the health effects of micronutrients (as well as other dietary supplements and drugs) is that participants might take additional micronutrient supplements, which could influence trial outcomes. In the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) of the drug finasteride, for example, almost half of the participants reported using a multivitamin/ mineral supplement, about one-third used single supplements of either vitamin C or E, and one in five used calcium supplements. Very little evidence is available on how individual micronutrient substances may interact with one another to influence health outcomes. For minerals, particularly, supplementation with one mineral may compromise the bioavailability of another. Also, much remains to be learned about how individual genetic susceptibilities may influence the health-related effects of micronutrient... 

National Cancer Institute. The prostate cancer prevention trial. Available at http //www.cancer.gov/pcpt. 

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