Doctor talking with older patient

Older prostate cancer patients receiving hormone-blocking treatments may face a heightened dementia risk, according to a federally-funded study.

Fully 13% of the 154,000 older patients receiving hormone-blocking treatments developed Alzheimer’s. That compares to 9% who opted for different therapies or none at all, investigators found. Researchers also discovered that the dementia risk grew stronger with more hormone-blocking treatments.

What gives the latest findings added heft is that they derive from a national cancer database and tracked patients for about eight years on average.

While the results do not offer conclusive proof, they underscore the importance of discussing risks and benefits prior to cancer treatment, the authors noted.

Full findings appear in JAMA Network Open.