Does ADT increase the risk of bone fractures in Japanese men?

This is a small study using an index called FRAX developed by the World Health Organization to predict the risk of bone fractures over a ten year period in different ethnic groups and populations. Here, the FRAX data were calculated for Japanese men on ADT. FRAX values alone, which do not include actual measures of bone mineral density, were not as good at predicting risk of a fracture as they were when combined with direct measures of bone density data.  DEXA is the standard method for measuring bone density and what this report would favour to use in combination with FRAX.

The data here confirm that the fracture risk goes up the longer the men are on ADT and is higher for men on ADT than not on ADT. That difference in risk though was not statistically significant. This may reflect real ethnic difference Japanese and Caucasian populations or simply that the study was too small to reach statistical significance.

 

Kawahara T, Fusayasu S, Izumi K, Yokomizo Y, Ito H, Ito Y, Kurita K, Furuya K, Hasumi H, Hayashi N, Myoshi Y, Miyamoto H, Yao M, Uemura H. 2016. Bone management in Japanese patients with prostate cancer: hormonal therapy leads to an increase in the FRAX score. BMC Urol 16(1):32. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27316330