A letter in the New England Journal of Medicine, Jan. 2nd, reports on a study conducted at Dana Farber Cancer Institute which indicates that Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer adversely affects low dose aspirin therapy prescribed to reduce heart attack risk for CAD. It seems that Flutamide the testosterone inhibitor used for ADT while suppressing testosterone which feeds prostate cancer also dangerously increases the level of aspirin in the blood from low dose aspirin therapy.

This causes a dillemma for physicians treating heart disease and prostate cancer in the same patients. Testosterone is needed to process the low dose aspirin or the dose accelerates creating a hemmorhage risk. The report states that further study is needed before reaching any conclusions or discontinuing treatments, although the risk of discontinuing hormone therapy for prostate cancer is probably greater than temporarily discontinuing aspirin therapy until the hormone therapy is completed.