Medicine for the Prostate Gland

All one needs to do is watch a few hours of TV to realize there are a variety of prescription medications for men suffering from urinary problems related to their prostates. That's not surprising because the prostate tends to grow in size as men age, and Americans are getting older.

Besides drugs that can relieve urinary symptoms, research shows other substances may promote prostate health and perhaps even ward off cancer. One substance is found in tomatoes and pink grapefruit.

Prostate Growth: From a Walnut to a Lemon

• The prostate gland, which produces semen and sits just below the bladder, starts out about the size of a walnut. But it grows in size as a man ages (by 60, it may be the size of a lemon), and the resulting pressure can cause urinary problems. This common condition is known as benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH. Symptoms include trouble urinating, a weak or slow urine stream, a sudden urge to urinate and frequent need to urinate, especially at night.

Drugs Can Provide Relief, Ward Off Cancer

• Two types of prescription drugs are used to treat BPH. Alpha blockers help relax muscles near the prostate to relieve pressure interfering with urinating. Another class or drugs, 5-alpha-reductate inhibitors, can slow prostate growth and actually shrink it by blocking an enzyme that acts on the male hormone testosterone.

  One of those inhibitors is finasteride. An extensive U.S. study of finasteride, funded by the National Cancer Institute, was undertaken in 1993 to see if it could reduce prostate cancer in men 55 and older. By 2003, the study showed, finasteride cut the risk of prostate cancer by 25 percent. Finasteride also improved cancer detection by shrinking the prostate, making it easier to find cancerous tissue. At first it appeared that men taking finasteride were slightly more likely to develop aggressive prostate cancer than those who didn't take the drug, but that was found to be false.

  Early results of an international study indicated that dutasteride may help reduce prostate cancer risk by 23 percent among men at higher risk of the disease. Men taking dutasteride were also found to be at no greater risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer than men who didn't take the drug.

Painkillers Can Reduce Prostate Size

• In June 2009, researchers reported that a study of men taking over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen daily had a reduction of about 50 percent in enlargement of the prostate and fewer urinary problems. But because the painkillers, including aspirin, may cause harmful side effects in excess, medical experts advise caution in taking the drugs.

Some Foods Can Help

• Certain foods containing substances known as lycopenes--including tomatoes, pink grapefruit, watermelon, papaya, guava and apricots--may also help reduce prostate cancer risk.

Supplements

• A large study was undertaken by the National Cancer Institute to determine if taking supplements of vitamin E and the mineral selenium, either separately or together, might also prevent prostate cancer or reduce the risk. But after five years, neither supplement was found to lower prostate cancer risk.

  Because of the possibility of prostate cancer, men with urinary problems should talk to their doctors.