It is being examined by The U. S. Food and Drug Administration that whether certain hormone treatments for men suffering from prostate cancer, pose a greater risk of diabetes or heart problems as compared to other therapies. The agency revealed that it has been looking at data from published studies to conclude the risks with commonly used Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) agonist drugs.

These products include Abbott Laboratories' Lupron, Sanofi-Aventis SA's Eligard, Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc's Vantas, AstraZeneca Plc's Zoladex, Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc's Trelstar and Pfizer Inc's Synarel. Conclusions have not been made by the agency about GnRH agonists. These drugs help in suppressing the production of testosterone, a hormone that increases the growth of prostate cancer.

The growth of prostate cancer can be slowed by suppressing the testosterone. This treatment is known as androgen deprivation therapy. Patients should be supervised for potential beginning of diabetes or cardiovascular disease, which may lead to heart attacks, stroke and sudden cardiac death.

An agency statement said, "However, these studies have design limitations that make it difficult to confirm a cause-and-effect relationship".

Limited information about drug exposure has been included in the studies. FDA also cautioned that patients should not stop taking the drugs unless a doctor tells them to.