Anti-androgen drugs used against prostate cancer appear to have a protective effect against the coronavirus. Studies carried out by Ticino researchers in Veneto (I) confirm observations already made in China.
The team of Andrea Alimonti, from the University of Italian Switzerland (USI), analyzed data from 4,532 men from this region of northern Italy. Of this total, 9.5% (430) suffered from cancer, and 2.6% (118) from prostate cancer.
In general, men with cancer have a 1.8 times higher risk than the average of contracting Covid-19 and progressing to a serious form compared to the male population.
Upon closer inspection, the researchers found that only four of the 5273
men treated with antiandrogens in Veneto contracted the disease, and none died. In comparison, of the 37,161 men who also had prostate cancer but were not treated with anti-androgens, 114 fell ill and 18 died.
Four times less risk
According to Professor Alimonti, quoted Wednesday in a press release from the Institute of Oncology of Italian Switzerland, patients who received anti-androgen treatment were thus four times less likely to contract Covid-19 compared to patients who did not were not receiving this therapy. The difference is even more significant when compared with patients with another type of cancer.
In the journal “Annals of Oncology”, the authors suggest that men in high-risk groups could take antiandrogens for a limited period of time as a preventive measure, even without prostate cancer, in combination with other drugs. . And those who are already infected could also take it to reduce the severity of the symptoms.
These treatments notably lower the testosterone level temporarily. If they are taken for less than a month, they have no major side effects, notes Professor Alimonti, who also teaches at EPF Zurich and the University of Padua (I).
This work also helps explain why men develop more aggressive forms of Covid-19 than women, with significantly higher mortality.
To find out more, researchers in Ticino are now planning to launch a clinical study with antiandrogens on men who have contracted Covid-19 and who have symptoms of moderate severity. The request is pending before the ethics committee. (ats / nxp)
Created: 07.05.2020, 00h00
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