Patients with prostate cancer given primary androgen deprivation therapy have up to double the risk of major cardiac events and death than men receiving other treatments, a study shows.

Norwegian researchers say the likelihood of adverse outcomes was particularly high in those already at moderate risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and those with longer duration of treatment.

They stressed, however, that androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) “cannot simply be removed as a treatment option” and urged clinicians to consider early intervention for cardiovascular risk factors prior to commencing therapy.

In the registry-based longitudinal study, the authors used data from 31,000 men with prostate cancer (mean age 67), of whom 27% received primary ADT in the first year of diagnosis, to assess the risk of CVD and all-cause mortality.