Commonly used medications may reduce PSA levels

Men using commonly prescribed medications-nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, statins, and thiazide diuretics-appear to experience reduced PSA levels by clinically significant amounts, researchers from Stanford University, Stanford, CA recently reported.

The impact of regularly consuming these medications on prostate cancer screening is unknown, say the researchers, led by Joseph C. Presti, Jr, MD.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (2010; 28:3951-7), included men 40 years of age and older without prostate cancer from the 2003 to 2004 and 2005 to 2006 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Men with recent prostate manipulation, prostatitis, and those on hormone therapy were excluded.

Weighted multivariate linear regression was performed on log-transformed total PSA to determine the effect of the 10 most commonly prescribed medication classes, adjusting for potential confounders, including demographics, clinical characteristics, physical examination, laboratory studies, and duration of medication use.

In total, 1,864 men met inclusion criteria. The researchers found that intake of an NSAID (p=.03), statin (p=.01), and thiazide diuretic (p=.025) was inversely related to PSA levels. Five years of NSAID, statin, and thiazide diuretic use was associated with PSA levels lower by 6%, 13%, and 26%, respectively. The combination of statins and thiazide diuretics showed the greatest reduction in PSA levels: 36% after 5 years.

"We found that men using NSAIDs, statins, and thiazide diuretics have reduced PSA levels by clinically relevant amounts," the authors wrote.