In a new study from the University of Gothenburg, researchers found a medicine that blocks testosterone and is used against certain types of prostate cancer would, it was hoped, also help against COVID-19.
But the hope has not been fulfilled: Following a clinical study and register studies, researchers have been unable to confirm the positive findings in previous studies.
The drug substance studied, enzalutamide, inhibits the function of the hormone testosterone, which in turn controls the expression of certain proteins.
The drug can thereby slow down the progression of certain types of prostate cancer.
Since a protein that is needed for the coronavirus to penetrate cells is controlled in the same way, one hypothesis was that the drug might also slow down, or stop, the emergence of disease in people infected with COVID-19.
Smaller studies among patients who took similar drugs early on in the pandemic also seemed to support the hypothesis.
In the study, the team tested a total of 42 patients for treatment for COVID-19: 30 were treated with enzalutamide, while the remaining 12 made up the control group.
However, there were no discernible signs of the drug having any beneficial effect on the participants’ health status, and the study was therefore discontinued on the recommendation of its independent review committee.
In a parallel study of national medical records, the researchers compared the disease progression of COVID-19 in men treated with testosterone inhibition for prostate cancer with those not given this type of treatment.
Here too, no beneficial effect of testosterone-inhibiting drugs could be seen.
Neither was any inhibition of the virus seen in a further parallel study, examining the effect of enzalutamide in a cell culture model with human lung cells.
In the clinical study, on the contrary, the researchers observed a need for a longer care period in the treated group, i.e. those who received the drug.
The team says there’s no cause for concern about getting more serious COVID-19 if you take a testosterone-suppressing drug for your prostate cancer
They add that a previously known link between severe cancer disease and death from COVID-19 was also observable in this study.
If you care about prostate cancer risk, please read studies about new drug for treating aggressive prostate cancer, and findings that this stuff in the body can protect against prostate cancer, fatty liver disease, diabetes.
For more information about COVID, please see recent studies about this drug that can block multiple COVID-19 variants, and results showing that new drug combo that can effectively treat COVID-19 infection.
The study is published in European Urology. One author of the study is Karin Welén.
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