Nitroglycerin Patch to Combat Prostate Cancer?

A small study published in the journal Urology has reported the effect of low-dose glyceryl trinitrate (nitroglycerin) in men who have had evidence of recurrence of prostate cancer after surgery or radiotherapy.  The idea is that cancer cells flourish in a low-oxygen environment, and providing nitric oxide locally can slow their progression.   

Men with an increasing PSA (prostate specific antigen) level after surgery or radiotherapy were enrolled in a 2-year study. They wore a slow-dose slow-release transdermal nitroglycerin patch.  The rate at which their PSA increased (PSA doubling-time) was compared before and after starting to wear the patch, as well as with matching ‘control’ patients who didn’t wear a patch.

Of 29 patients enrolled, 18 (62%) completed the two years, with 3 of them showing clinical progression.  The average PSA doubling-times were 13.3 months for the patients before treatment, 12.8 months for the matched control patients, and 31.8 months for the patch-wearing patients.

This small study can only be regarded as a pilot trial.  However, the significant changes in PSA increase rate are encouraging, and are certainly grounds for a placebo-controlled randomized double-blind study.