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Abstract
(Marketwire - March 19, 2012) - Health Canada is informing health professionals and the public that the prescription drugs finasteride and dutasteride may be associated with an increased risk of developing a serious form of prostate cancer known as high-grade prostate cancer. High-grade prostate cancer is an aggressive type of prostate cancer that grows and spreads more quickly than low-grade prostate cancer. This type of cancer is rare, and the increased risk seen with finasteride and dutasteride drugs is still considered very small.
New warnings on this risk have been added to the Canadian drug labels for finasteride and dutasteride products. Finasteride is available under the brand names Proscar (5 mg finasteride) and Propecia (1 mg finasteride) and their generic equivalents (all of which contain "finasteride" in their name). Dutasteride is available under the brand names Avodart and Jalyn (a combination drug product containing dutasteride and tamsulosin).