EFN

UK drug heavyweight GlaxoSmithKline was given a jolt yesterday on findings that Avodart cut the odds of prostate cancer in men believed to be high risk from the disease.

The medication, dutasteride (Avodart), was taken by men between the ages of 50 and 75 who were at a raised risk of the disease with considerable prostate specific antigen levels.

Clinical test findings demonstrated its prostate medicine Avodart lowered the chance of cancer in men at increased risk of disease by 23 percent, helping lift the stock approximately 2 percent by 1000 GMT and prompting increased sales forecasts from analysts.

According to the company, dutasteride restrains both type 1 and type 2 5-alpha reductase enzymes, responsible for converting testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, the most potent male hormone in the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second-most commonly diagnosed of all male cancers, and is responsible for over 221,000 mortalities every year.

Lead researcher Dr Gerald Andriole said: “There’s no question that many had small tumours that were not detected, yet the drug still lowered the risk of cancer being found years later.”