Prostate cancer chemoprevention: an overview of United States trials.

PURPOSE

We review the current status of clinical trials investigating the use of interventions designed to reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted, which included the Ovid database and recent abstract proceedings from national meetings relevant to chemoprevention trials in prostate cancer. All clinical trials sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute in the United States were included.

RESULTS

A total of 11 randomized controlled trials were found to be currently recruiting patients in the United States. These randomized controlled trials are designed to investigate the efficacy of a variety of agents ranging from dietary supplements to laboratory manufactured drugs, such as finasteride and cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, for the primary chemoprevention of prostate cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

Chemoprevention of prostate cancer is currently being tested in a wide range of clinical trials. These studies have the potential to fundamentally alter the current approach to prostate cancer management.