In a nutshell
The authors determined the link between a specific hormone therapy and the risk of pneumonia in prostate cancer patients.
Some background
Hormone therapy is a common treatment for prostate cancer. It targets the male sex hormones active in prostate cancer, such as testosterone. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a specific type of hormone treatment. GnRH is released from nerves in the brain and activates two additional hormones that control the level of sex hormones produced in the testes. Hormone therapy may cause additional illnesses in some patients.
Further studies are needed to determine the link between pneumonia and long-term use of GnRH in prostate cancer patients.
Methods & findings
The aim of this study was to determine whether GnRH treatment increased the risk of pneumonia in prostate cancer patients.
2,064 patients were included in this study with a 1 year follow-up. 1207 patients (58.5%) were treated with GnRH for more than 1 month.
4.35% of patients who received GnRH treatment had occurrence of pneumonia in 1 year. 2.14% of patients who did not receive GnRH treatment had occurrence of pneumonia in 1 year. Patients who were treated with GnRH had a 2.23 times increased risk of experiencing pneumonia compared to patients who did not receive GnRH treatment.
Patients treated with GnRH were at almost 2 times increased risk of hospitalization for pneumonia during 1-year follow-up. This was compared to patients who did not receive GnRH treatment. There was a significant difference in 1-year pneumonia-free survival (patients who did not experience pneumonia after treatment) between patients who received GnRH treatment and patients who did not.
The bottom line
The authors concluded that patients who were treated with GnRH hormone therapy had an increased risk of pneumonia.
Published By :
PLOS ONE
Date :
Jun 27, 2014
