Every male has the risk of developing prostate cancer. In fact, it is one of the most common cancers found in men. According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 175,000 men in America will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year and about 31.620 men will die this year of prostate cancer.

Something I was not aware of is the link between a family history of breast cancer and the risk of prostate cancer. The genes linked to increased risk of breast cancer, BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, increase a man’s risk of developing prostate cancer. Other risk factors linked to the development of prostate cancer is age, family history, obesity and a fatty diet.

Some cases of prostate cancer are very slow growing and present no real symptoms or problems. In these cases, treatment is minimal and sometimes not even necessary. However, some forms of prostate cancer are faster growing, present problems and metastasize (spread to other areas of the body).

The type and stage of a man’s prostate cancer will dictate the type of treatment used. The American Cancer Society list the following treatment options:

Depending on each case, treatment options for men with prostate cancer might include:

• Watchful Waiting or Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer

• Surgery for Prostate Cancer

• Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer

• Cryotherapy for Prostate Cancer

• Hormone Therapy for Prostate Cancer

• Chemotherapy for Prostate Cancer

• Vaccine Treatment for Prostate Cancer

• Preventing and Treating Prostate Cancer Spread to Bones

A common treatment of prostate cancer includes the use of antiandrogens, drugs that block testosterone. However, a new study has linked the use of antiandrogens to a possibly fatal heart condition known as heart QT interval:

In a study published Monday in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, researchers looked at how several testosterone-blocking drugs affect the heart’s QT interval – the time it takes the heart cells to recharge in between beats.

The longer a QT interval, typically measured by an electrocardiogram, the more at risk a person is to develop serious heart rhythm problems and a condition called torsade de pointes, which can result in sudden death. Women naturally have a longer QT interval than men, and they are at higher risk for this form of arrhythmia.

“Testosterone is in part responsible for the protective effect in men,” said lead study author Dr. Joe-Elie Salem, an associate professor of cardiology and pharmacology at Sorbonne University in Paris. “We wanted to see if blocking testosterone with antiandrogens could lead to acute QT prolongation and sudden death.”

Salem and his colleagues used VigiBase, a global health database of reports of suspected adverse effects of medicines filed since 1968. They searched for cases of men with long QT, torsade de pointes or a sudden death associated with testosterone-blocking therapy.

Seven of the 10 drugs they reviewed were disproportionally associated with either long QT, torsade de pointes or sudden death. The drug enzalutamide, which is used to treat metastatic prostate cancer, was linked with more deaths than any other antiandrogen.

According to the Mayo Clinic, most men with long heart QT syndrome (LQTS) have no symptoms. The only way to detect the condition is through an ECG, having a family history of LQTS or genetic testing. If the condition is sufficient enough to cause symptoms, they consist of fainting, seizures and sadly, sudden death.

Since most men don’t have symptoms until it’s too late, if you or any man in your family is being treated with antiandrogen drugs for prostate cancer, you may want to ask your doctor to give you and ECG to see if you may have LQTS. If so, you may want to seek alternative treatment.