Medical Therapy of Prostatic Symptoms

The Medical Therapy of Prostatic Symptoms (MTOPS) is a clinical research study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study will test whether the oral drugs finasteride (Proscar) and doxazosin (Cardura), alone or together, can delay or prevent further worsening of symptoms in men with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). MTOPS is the largest and longest study to simultaneously test whether these drugs can delay or prevent the clinical progression (symptom worsening) of BPH. Seventeen U.S. medical centers recruited 2,931 men diagnosed with symptomatic BPH between December 1995 and March 1998. Study doctors will continue to follow these men through November 2001 on a quarterly basis. In addition to the clinical progression of BPH, MTOPS will include evaluations of prostate volume by ultrasound, prostate biopsies among a subgroup of volunteers, and quality of life.