EFFECTS OF ANDROGEN SUPPRESSION BY GONADOTROPIN-RELEASING-HORMONE AGONIST AND FLUTAMIDE ON LIPID-METABOLISM IN MEN WITH PROSTATE-CANCER - FOCUS ON LIPOPROTEIN(A)

No clear relation between lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] and endogenous gonada l hormones has been demonstrated. In this study, we compared the effec ts on Lp(a) of pharmacological castration in 50 patients with prostate cancer who were undergoing therapy with a gonadotropin-releasing horm one agonist (goserelin), with effects on 58 age-matched controls. We a lso studied 16 untreated patients under baseline conditions and after 3 months of therapy with goserelin alone or combined with an antiandro gen (flutamide). Neither cross-sectional nor prospective studies showe d any significant effects of therapy on Lp(a). Ho sever, cluster analy sis identified a subgroup of patients showing slight but significant i ncreases in Lp(a) concentrations, as vc-ell as greater declines of tes tosterone and estradiol, suggesting that androgen, like estrogen, can exert some slight, though not easily detectable, influence on Lp(a).