The effect of finasteride on angiogenesis of prostate cancer

Objective To observe the effect of longterm use of finasteride on angiogenesis of prostate cancer.Methods A total of 44 patients(mean age,72 years;age range,56-86 years) with T_(1b)~T_4 stage prostate cancer were included.Among them,12 patients had taken finasteride at 5mg/d for 3 to 24 months(mean,9 months);the remaining 32 patients with no use of finasteride served as controls.The expression of CD34,hypoxia-inducible factor 1α(HIF-1α),and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) were detected by immunohistochemical assay in the tissue samples of prostate cancer and microvessel density(MVD) was analyzed by staining with antibodies to CD34.Results A lower concentration of MVD((48.4±)(10.8)) in prostate cancer patients treated with finasteride was observed compared with that in the controls(66.8±17.7),showing a significant difference(P0.05).The positive rates of HIF-1αand VEGF expression were significantly lower in prostate cancer patients treated with finasteride(33% and 42%) than those in the controls(69% and 75%,P0.05 for both).Conclusions Decreased expression of HIF-1αand VEGF by finasteride may inhibit angiogenesis in prostate cancer.This may be one of the important mechanisms of finasteride in preventing and inhibiting prostate cancer.