After accounting for other risk factors for cataracts, they found that men treated with the hormone drugs had, on average, a 9 percent increased risk of developing a cataract compared to those not treated with ADT (androgen deprivation therapy). The risk rose by around 26 percent for the far smaller proportion of men who had their testicles removed.
The increased risk is relatively small but because so many men use ADT, it is estimated that about 5 percent of cataract cases in men with prostate cancer might be blamed on the therapy.
With ADT so commonly used as part of a patient's treatment for prostate cancer, it is important to have a complete understanding of the negative consequences of therapy.
Patients should be monitored carefully while on ADT for new diagnoses of diabetes, and potentially cataract.
