Implications of Cardiovascular Disease for Prostate Cancer Patients Receiving Androgen-Signaling Inhibitors

Androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) — the critical initial step in the management of patients with advanced prostate cancer — is associated with a range of established adverse effects, including increased risk for metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and other factors associated with development of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

To determine if there is a definitive causal relationship between second-generation, oral androgen receptor (AR)–signaling inhibitors — abiraterone acetate (AA) and enzalutamide (ENZ) — and CVD, investigators conducted a retrospective, population-based study involving 3876 prostate cancer patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare linked database who received these agents. Of these patients, 67% had …