Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: What About a Campaign for Prevention?

Objectives: In an era when prevention is considered better than cure, is there a rationale for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) prevention? Materials and Methods: Medline and Current Content databases were searched for studies conduced in the last 10 years on BPH and the feasibility of prevention program. Results: Some important criteria for promoting prevention can be found in BPH disease. The significant impact of BPH on the male population and on its quality of life is well established. Knowledge of the etiopathogenesis of this disease is rapidly improving. However, the use of PSA or othe rmarkers to select a population at higher risk for developing BPH and its clinical manifestations needs to be better established. More data are available for secondary prevention against BPH progression. Although the action of some natural and nutritional agents on BPH tissue has been demonstrated experimentally, data from prospe tive clinical trials are not available. Synthetic agents such as 5alpha-reductase inhibitors or COX-2 inhibitors may be effective, but clinical results for primary prevention of BPH have not been reported. Conclusion: At present, we propose a BPH prevention program as a basis for discussion and future work.