RESEARCHER SEES CANCER RISK FROM POPULAR HORMONE

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A popular hormone supplement sold in health
food stores in the United States as a means of slowing the aging
process could increase the risk of prostate cancer in men, a medical
researcher said Friday.

Dr. Marshall Goldberg, an endocrinologist at Jefferson Medical
College, said the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone, or DHEA, can
stimulate production of an insulin-like growth factor known as IGF-1,
which has been linked to an abnormal growth of prostate cells.

Earlier this year researchers at McGill Unversity reported men with
elevated levels of IGF-1 were 4.5 times more likely to develop
prostate cancer than men with lower levels of the growth factor, which
helps to regulate cell turnover.

Goldberg, who has been studying DHEA's effects on his patients for
nearly a decade, said in a recent issue of the journal Emergency
Medicine that daily doses of the hormone as small as 25 milligrams can
significantly raise IGF-1 levels.

``This is a real risk factor for prostate cancer,'' he said.
''Everyone's taking it -- even my in-laws -- and they all think it's
safe.''

DHEA, the body's most abundant hormone, is believed by many laymen to
ward off illnesses which occur more frequently among elderly people,
specifically diabetes, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease.
More than one million Americans are estimated to take the hormone as a
dietary supplement.

Levels of DHEA rise after puberty, peak between the ages of 225-30 and
then decline as much as 80 percent as the individual ages. Goldberg
said the change could indicate that the hormone does have health
benefits for older people.

But there would be a case for regulating DHEA if a link between the
hormone, elevated IGF-1 levels and prostate cancer were confirmed, he
said.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry