So far, only one treatment has been shown in a large, well- designed study to reduce the risk of prostate cancer: finasteride, a drug widely used to relieve urinary problems. Sold as Proscar, finasteride shrinks an enlarged prostate that can block urine from traveling through the urethra. It works by preventing testosterone from converting into a related chemical -- dihydrotestosterone -- that promotes prostate growth. However, because the drug slows cell division in the prostate, it also reduces the occurrence of cancer- causing mutations.

[Eric Klein] points out that the risk is very slight -- only about 1%. And he says that even this small risk may be overstated, because finasteride, by shrinking the prostate, may have made aggressive tumors easier to detect. A research paper to be published in the coming months will report that the actual risk of aggressive prostate cancer from finasteride is probably lower than the Texas study suggests, Klein says. "I think the whole community will reassess the use of finasteride after this data is out and we'll see an interest in prescribing it more widely to prevent prostate cancer."

If statins help ward off prostate cancer, scientists have clues as to why. Recent animal research at Children's Hospital Boston showed that cholesterol gathers in the walls of prostate cancer cells and helps the cells live longer. Another study showed that exposing human prostate cancer cells to statins in a test tube reduces that cholesterol buildup. Sapped of cholesterol, the cancer cells die quickly.

So far, only one treatment has been shown in a large, well- designed study to reduce the risk of prostate cancer: finasteride, a drug widely used to relieve urinary problems. Sold as Proscar, finasteride shrinks an enlarged prostate that can block urine from traveling through the urethra. It works by preventing testosterone from converting into a related chemical -- dihydrotestosterone -- that promotes prostate growth. However, because the drug slows cell division in the prostate, it also reduces the occurrence of cancer- causing mutations.

[Eric Klein] points out that the risk is very slight -- only about 1%. And he says that even this small risk may be overstated, because finasteride, by shrinking the prostate, may have made aggressive tumors easier to detect. A research paper to be published in the coming months will report that the actual risk of aggressive prostate cancer from finasteride is probably lower than the Texas study suggests, Klein says. "I think the whole community will reassess the use of finasteride after this data is out and we'll see an interest in prescribing it more widely to prevent prostate cancer."

If statins help ward off prostate cancer, scientists have clues as to why. Recent animal research at Children's Hospital Boston showed that cholesterol gathers in the walls of prostate cancer cells and helps the cells live longer. Another study showed that exposing human prostate cancer cells to statins in a test tube reduces that cholesterol buildup. Sapped of cholesterol, the cancer cells die quickly.