Private MD News

Combination drug therapy more effective in treating BPH

Category: Prostate

A recent study conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center has found that two drugs designed to treat enlarged prostates are more effective when administered together.

The study, which included more than 4,800 men suffering from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), was the first of its kind to analyze the combination therapy of dutasteride and tamsulosin.

After four years of follow-up, the researchers found that patients who received both drugs experienced a 25 percent reduction in prostate volume and reported fewer symptoms than those who received either drug alone.

Furthermore, the subjects who received the combination therapy displayed a 50 percent reduction in prostate-specific antigen, a protein commonly produced by cancerous prostate tissue.

The researchers also "found a 65 percent decrease in the relative risk of acute urinary retention or BPH-related surgery compared with tamsulosin alone and just over a 19 percent reduction compared with dutasteride alone," said lead author Claus Roehrborn, chairman of urology at the university.

Although there currently is no combination drug for BPH approved by the FDA, Roehrborn believes the findings should provide physicians with more information when advising patients on a course of treatment.