Hormone-modifying cancer therapy can lead to increased risk of metabolic syndrome. Vigilant screening and treatment for metabolic syndrome is an important component of care for cancer survivors.
Abstract
Emerging evidence implicates metabolic syndrome as a long-term cancer risk factor but also suggests that certain cancer therapies might increase patients’ risk of developing metabolic syndrome secondary to cancer therapy. In particular, breast cancer and prostate cancer are driven in part by sex hormones; thus, treatment for both diseases is often based on hormone-modifying therapy. Androgen suppression therapy in men with prostate cancer is associated with dyslipidemia, increasing risk of cardiovascular disease, and insulin resistance. Anti-estrogen therapy in women with breast cancer can affect lipid profiles, cardiovascular risk, and liver function. As the number of cancer survivors continues to grow, treating physicians must be aware of the potential risks facing patients who have been treated with either androgen suppression therapy or anti-estrogen therapy so that early diagnosis and intervention can be achieved.
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— Amanda J. Redig, PhD, Hidayatullah G. Munshi, MD
This article originally appeared in the January 2010 issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
