Dutasteride reduces prostatitis symptoms compared with placebo in men enrolled in the REDUCE study

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Andrology
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Men at risk for prostate cancer often experience chronic prostatitis or pelvic pain.
• The REDUCE study investigated dutasteride for prostate cancer risk reduction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effect of dutasteride on prostatitis-like symptoms within the REDUCE study population.
• To assess changes in the Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (CPSI) and clinical prostatitis reports.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from the 4-year, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled REDUCE study.
• Investigated CPSI scores, responder rates, and adverse event reports in men with prostatitis-like pain or syndrome.

Main Results:

• Dutasteride significantly decreased CPSI total scores in men with prostatitis-like pain and syndrome compared to placebo at 48 months.
• A higher proportion of dutasteride recipients achieved a moderate CPSI response.
• Clinical prostatitis was reported less frequently in the dutasteride group than the placebo group.

Conclusions:

• Long-term dutasteride therapy improves prostatitis-related symptoms in older men with elevated prostate-specific antigen.
• Dutasteride demonstrates a potential benefit for managing prostatitis symptoms in this demographic.