Androgen-deprivation therapy could protect against infection with SARS-CoV-2 and against severe disease progression. This is suggested by a study led by a professor from the Università della Svizzera Italiana and ETH Zurich.
Male cancer patients have a 1.8-fold increased risk of COVID-19 infection compared to the whole male population and develop a more severe disease. This is found in a study led by Andrea Alimonti, Professor at the Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI) and ETH Zurich, with over 4500 men in the Veneto region, Italy.
Interestingly, however, the study authors found an exception: men treated for prostate cancer with androgen-deprivation therapies (ADT) were less likely to develop COVID-19 and, if they were infected, the disease was less severe.