The role of 5-alpha reductase inhibitors in prostate pathophysiology: Is there an additional advantage to inhibition of type 1 isoenzyme?

Normal growth and function of the prostate are contingent on the reduction of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) by 5-alpha reductase (5-AR) enzymes types 1 and 2. It has been theorized that an overabundance of DHT may be implicated in the pathogenesis of both benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer. Inhibitors of 5-AR such as dutasteride and finasteride may therefore have an important role in the prevention and treatment of BPH and prostate cancer. Dutasteride provides greater suppression of DHT than finasteride, thereby underlying the hypothesis that inhibition of both type 1 and type 2 would provide correspondingly greater protection than inhibition of type 2 alone. We review the potential significance of the 5-AR inhibitors in reducing the risk of prostate cancer according to the basic biology of prostate disease.