Levitra may ease prostate test worries
Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 11:47 amA London urologist hopes a drug recently shown to be highly effective in men with erectile dysfunction will encourage them to be tested for prostate cancer, without fear treatment will affect sexual performance.
An international study has found that the drug Levitra, taken a half-hour before sexual activity, is highly effective in men with erectile dysfunction following a prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer.
"This is good news because it means we now know a lot more about the best way to treat men after surgery," said Gerald Brock, professor of urology at the University of Western Ontario's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry and an investigator in the worldwide study that included 10 Canadian sites.
"Hopefully, it will encourage more men to go forward with prostate testing, because one of the reasons men are frightened to do so is the side-effects of the therapies, including problems with erections," he said.
In Canada, one in seven men will develop prostate cancer, with an estimated 24,700 men being diagnosed this year. An estimated 4,300 will die.
All men over age 50 are urged to have an annual blood test, known as PSA -- prostate specific antigen -- to detect the disease.
For localized prostate cancer, a nerve-sparing prostatectomy is the gold standard of treatment, but Brock noted even with a robot guiding the surgery, providing "optimum magnification and better instrumentation," about two-thirds of men will have significant problems with erections post-surgery.
The Levitra study was the largest of its kind on an erectile dysfunction drug, conducted during 13 months on 423 males between 18 and 64 years who were sexually active before surgery.
About half the men "had a really robust response to the drug," said Brock, while two-thirds showed an "overall improvement in their sexual function."
An international study has found that the drug Levitra, taken a half-hour before sexual activity, is highly effective in men with erectile dysfunction following a prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer.
"This is good news because it means we now know a lot more about the best way to treat men after surgery," said Gerald Brock, professor of urology at the University of Western Ontario's Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry and an investigator in the worldwide study that included 10 Canadian sites.
"Hopefully, it will encourage more men to go forward with prostate testing, because one of the reasons men are frightened to do so is the side-effects of the therapies, including problems with erections," he said.
In Canada, one in seven men will develop prostate cancer, with an estimated 24,700 men being diagnosed this year. An estimated 4,300 will die.
All men over age 50 are urged to have an annual blood test, known as PSA -- prostate specific antigen -- to detect the disease.
For localized prostate cancer, a nerve-sparing prostatectomy is the gold standard of treatment, but Brock noted even with a robot guiding the surgery, providing "optimum magnification and better instrumentation," about two-thirds of men will have significant problems with erections post-surgery.
The Levitra study was the largest of its kind on an erectile dysfunction drug, conducted during 13 months on 423 males between 18 and 64 years who were sexually active before surgery.
About half the men "had a really robust response to the drug," said Brock, while two-thirds showed an "overall improvement in their sexual function."