Harvard
trained physician John R. Lee, MD - a leading medical authority on natural
progesterone - discusses:
Male
Prostate, Estrogen dominance and Progesterone benefits...
PROSTATE
PROBLEMS AND HORMONES.
Some
years back, a handful of men called or wrote to tell me of their experience
with progesterone, usually the result of handling progesterone cream
while helping a woman apply it. They reported that their symptoms of
prostate enlargement or benign prostatic hypertrophy (3PK) such as urinary
urgency and frequency decreased considerably, and their sexual performance
increased, Needless to say, this gave me much to think about. Since
then, several men with prostate cancer have told me their PSA (Prostate
Specific Antigen) level - an indication of prostate cancer - decreased
when they started using a daily dab of progesterone cream, and that
they have had no progression of their prostate lesions since using the
cream. One man called to say his bone metas-tases are now no longer
visible by Mayo clinic X-ray tests.
Though
I retired from active practice ten years ago, six of my former patients
with early prostate cancer have been using progesterone cream (along
with diet, some vitamin and mineral supplements, and saw palmetto) for
about five years. All report their cancer has shown no progression.
The
Wrong Treatment All These Years.
Since Huggins showed, in 1941, that castration (removal of the testicles)
slowed progression of prostate cancer, physicians have assumed it was
the resulting lack of testosterone that slowed the cancer, and ever
since have relied on suppression of testosterone in their treatment
of the disease. However, the testosterone suppression benefit only lasts
two to three years, and then the prostate cancer progresses to an androgen
(male hormone) insensitive state and continues to spread. Despite this,
metastatic prostate cancer patients are treated with androgen blockade
through castration (orchiectomy) and/or hormone-suppressing drugs I
remember reading studies done 30 to 40 years ago showing that testosterone
supplementation prevented survival of prostate cancer cells transplanted
to test mammals. In more recent (as yet unpublished) studies it has
been shown that in a prostate cancer cell culture, testosterone kills
the cancer cells.
A
1996 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
showed that in mice, testosterone will shrink human prostate tumors.
The benefit of castration in prostate cancer stemmed from estradiol
reduction, not testosterone reduction.
Tracking
the Culprit.
Why does prostate cancer occur so often in aging men? Consider the changes
in testicular hormone production as men age:
1) Testosterone levels fall.
2) More testosterone is changed (by 5-alpha-reductase enzyme) to dihydrotestosterone
(DHT), stimulating prostate growth;
3) Progesterone levels fall. Progesterone is vital to good health in
men. It is the primary precursor of our adrenal cortical hormones and
testosterone. Men synthesize progesterone in smaller amounts than women
do but it is still vital. Since progesterone Is a potent inhibitor of
5-alpha-reductase, the decline of progesterone in aging males plays
a role in increasing the conversion rate of testosterone to DHT.
4) Estradiol (an estrogen) effect increases.
Testosterone
Is a direct antagonist of estradiol. Both the fall in testosterone and
the shift from testosterone to DHT allows increased effect of estradiol.
Male estradiol levels are equivalent to or greater than that of postmenopausal
females, but normally estradiol's effects are suppressed (antagonized)
by the male's greater production of testosterone. Perhaps estradiol
is also the culprit (along with DHT) in prostate growth.
Getting
Down to the Gene Level
Embryology teaches us that the prostate Is the male equivalent of the
female uterus. The two organs differentiate from the same embryonic
cells and they share many of the same genes such as the oncogene, Bcl-2,
and the cancer-protector gene, p53. It is not surprising then, that
the hormonal relationships in endometrial cancer will be the same in
prostate cancer; that is both are very sensitive to the harmful effects
of unopposed estrogen and are protected by progesterone. Researchers
T.S. Wiley and Bent Formby, Ph.D. have done test tube studies that verify
this relationship, but human studies still need to be done. The course
of prostate cancer growth, like breast cancer growth [is] due to the
continued presence of an underlying metabolic imbalance.
The
underlying metabolic imbalance in all hormone-dependent cancers is estrogen
dominance. Prevent the estrogen dominance and you will prevent the
cancer. If the cancer is already underway, correcting the estrogen dominance
will slow the cancer growth and prolong life. The benefit of castration
in prostate cancer stemmed from estradiol reduction, not testosterone
reduction. Given the choice, I would choose testosterone and progesterone
supplementation...."
Dr. Lee's Healthy Prostate Program
1. Diet should avoid sugars, refined starches, and other glycemic (insulin-raising)
foods as well as high estrogen foods such as feedlot-raised meat and
milk.
2. Avoid xenoestrogens such as pesticides and some plastics
3. Maintain a good intake of antioxidants.
4. If you are over 50, monitor saliva hormone levels of progesterone
and testosterone.
5. Supplement progesterone and testosterone by transdermal cream to
maintain saliva levels consistent with that of healthy mature males.
When supplemented in this manner:
I recommend 8 to 10 mg per day of progesterone and 1 to 2 mg per
day of testosterone.
6. From my clinical experience, it would not surprise me that exercise
and an active sex life are also protective factors against prostate
cancer.
7. It is known that chronic inflammation may also be potentially carcinogenic.
It is wise, therefore, to maintain one's intake of antioxidants such
as vitamin C, selenium, and fat soluble anti-oxidant vitamins, A, E,
D, and K. Reprint:
John R. Lee, MD - Medical News Letter January 1999
