Prostate cancer treatment ups heart and diabetes risks:

"Hormone-suppressing therapy is not suitable for all cases of the disease, researcher says
A treatment for prostate cancer that blocks male hormone production is associated with increased risks for diabetes and heart disease -- and it's being used far more often than it should be, according to Boston researchers.

The Harvard Medical School group studied more than 73,000 men age 66 years and older who had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and followed for as long as 10 years.

More than 26,000 of the men had been treated with a drug called a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist. This form of 'chemical castration' blocks the production of male hormones that promote the growth of prostate tumours. But it has been associated with increased body fat and insulin resistance, a condition that increases the risk for developing diabetes.

Compared with men who were not given a GnRH agonist, the patients who did receive this treatment had a 44 per cent increased risk of developing diabetes, a 16 per cent increased risk of heart disease and heart-related sudden death and an 11 per cent increased risk of suffering a heart attack..."