Instructions: Write a phrase, the answer to which is present in the passage. The answer to this question should be completely and unambiguously found in the passage. The query must be about a single or multiple linked entities.
Input: Finasteride reduces PSA levels to varying degrees in different men, making it difficult to track what the "true" PSA values are over time. Finasteride fails to reduce PSA velocity (increases) in men with high-grade prostate cancer and fails to induce objective responses in men with metastases. Finasteride's so-called "preventive" effects in the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial occurred far too early and did not increase much over time. There's also access to private tastings at Bulgheroni's other wineries in California, Bordeaux, Tuscany, Argentina, and Australia's Barossa Valley, and educational seminars finasteride effect on psa levels with vintner Alberto Antonini. The sexual side effects of Propecia may continue after you stop taking it. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns about these side effects. Propecia may also cause decrease in blood prostate specific antigen levels, and can affect the PSA blood test. Propecia is available in strength of 1 mg tablets; the recommended dose of Propecia is one tablet (1mg) taken once daily. In general daily use for three months is necessary before benefit is observed. Withdrawl of treatment leads to reversal of effect within 12 months. Propecia may interact with other drugs. Studies have shown that finasteride decreases prostate specific antigen (PSA) by approximately 50% during the first 12 months of use. We estimated the long-term effects of finasteride on PSA in men with and without a prostate cancer diagnosis at the end of the study. The effects of finasteride on PSA have been studied in several cohorts of men with symptomatic BPH. 1113 Initial results indicated that finasteride causes an average 50% decrease in PSA by 1 year following the initiation of treatment. 11 This 50% decrease also appeared to apply at the individual level, leading to the multiply by 2 rule, which recommends that PSA in men on finasteride should be doubled before being compared with standard reference ranges. The long-term decrease in PSA in normal men on finasteride contrasts with the slow increase in PSA in prostate cancer cases on finasteride. Thus, in men with cancer the increase in PSA due to disease progression apparently dominates any decrease associated with the effect of finasteride on prostate epithelium. We noted that finasteride has a sustained effect on PSA in normal men but after cancer develops PSA grows equally rapidly in men on and off treatment. In addition to clarifying the long-term impact of finasteride on PSA, these findings suggest that the duration of finasteride treatment should be considered when determining whether PSA in an individual is or is not within the normal range. An article in the New York Times (June 15, 2008) suggested that men might be well advised to take finasteride (Proscar) every day to prevent prostate cancer. 1 I believe that important, unanswered questions remain about the safety and efficacy of finasteride for prostate cancer prevention. The PSA levels in men taking finasteride for the treatment of benign prostate enlargement usually decrease by 30% to 70% after one year and even more after more prolonged treatment. The theoretic basis for using finasteride to prevent prostate cancer is that almost all prostate cancer cells are responsive to male hormones (androgens). The initial arguments for using finasteride were that by reducing the overall cancer detection rate, it might reduce the number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer and prevent unnecessary testing, biopsies, and treatment with its potential side effects.
Output:
effect of finasteride on psa levels