• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • Featured Urology
  • Female Urology
  • Urologic Oncology
  • What is Urology?
  • Pediatric Urology
  • Urology

Study suggests another look at testosterone-prostate cancer link

September 8, 2020
Yoga for Prostate Cancer: Best Yoga exercises to combat prostate growth in men

Yoga for Prostate Cancer: Best Yoga exercises to combat prostate growth in men

November 14, 2022
New treatment can more than double life expectancy for people with prostate cancer: doctor

New treatment can more than double life expectancy for people with prostate cancer

November 14, 2022
Study finds that use of yoga app can reduce urinary incontinence

Study finds that use of yoga app can reduce urinary incontinence

November 9, 2022
Urinary Incontinence: Types and Treatments

Urinary Incontinence: Types and Treatments

November 9, 2022
Low Rates of PSA Screening Linked to Increase in Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Low Rates of PSA Screening Linked to Increase in Metastatic Prostate Cancer

November 4, 2022
Can Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Reduce Dementia Risk?

Can Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Reduce Dementia Risk?

November 4, 2022
New PSA test examines protein structures to detect prostate cancers

New PSA test examines protein structures to detect prostate cancers

November 2, 2022
A better way to image metastatic prostate cancer

A better way to image metastatic prostate cancer

November 2, 2022
Newly discovered protein may protect kidney cells from injury

Newly discovered protein may protect kidney cells from injury

November 2, 2022
A person’s diet, acidity of urine may affect susceptibility to UTIs

A person’s diet, acidity of urine may affect susceptibility to UTIs

November 2, 2022
Award-winning agent developed for prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment

Award-winning agent developed for prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment

November 2, 2022
New treatment for polycystic kidney disease

New treatment for polycystic kidney disease

November 2, 2022
Sunday, November 27, 2022
Urology Today
  • Home
  • Featured Urology
    Yoga for Prostate Cancer: Best Yoga exercises to combat prostate growth in men

    Yoga for Prostate Cancer: Best Yoga exercises to combat prostate growth in men

    Study finds that use of yoga app can reduce urinary incontinence

    Study finds that use of yoga app can reduce urinary incontinence

    Urinary Incontinence: Types and Treatments

    Urinary Incontinence: Types and Treatments

    Low Rates of PSA Screening Linked to Increase in Metastatic Prostate Cancer

    Low Rates of PSA Screening Linked to Increase in Metastatic Prostate Cancer

    Kidney failure impacts survival of sepsis patients

    Kidney failure impacts survival of sepsis patients

    Urine-based test improves on PSA for detecting prostate cancer

    Urine-based test improves on PSA for detecting prostate cancer

    Unemployment linked to rise in prostate cancer deaths

    Unemployment linked to rise in prostate cancer deaths

    Unemployment linked to rise in prostate cancer deaths

    Advanced viral gene therapy eradicates prostate cancer in preclinical experiments

    prostate cancer

    Recurrence of prostate cancer detected earlier with innovative PSMA-ligand PET/CT

    Two major studies strengthen case for prostate cancer drug before chemotherapy

    Two major studies strengthen case for prostate cancer drug before chemotherapy

    Trending Tags

    • Donald Trump
    • Future of News
    • Climate Change
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Female Urology
    • Male Urology
    • Pediatric Urology
    Yoga for Prostate Cancer: Best Yoga exercises to combat prostate growth in men

    Yoga for Prostate Cancer: Best Yoga exercises to combat prostate growth in men

    Study finds that use of yoga app can reduce urinary incontinence

    Study finds that use of yoga app can reduce urinary incontinence

    Urinary Incontinence: Types and Treatments

    Urinary Incontinence: Types and Treatments

    New PSA test examines protein structures to detect prostate cancers

    New PSA test examines protein structures to detect prostate cancers

    A better way to image metastatic prostate cancer

    A better way to image metastatic prostate cancer

    Award-winning agent developed for prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment

    Award-winning agent developed for prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment

    New treatment for polycystic kidney disease

    New treatment for polycystic kidney disease

    Urine-based test improves on PSA for detecting prostate cancer

    Urine-based test improves on PSA for detecting prostate cancer

    Unemployment linked to rise in prostate cancer deaths

    Advanced viral gene therapy eradicates prostate cancer in preclinical experiments

    Two major studies strengthen case for prostate cancer drug before chemotherapy

    Two major studies strengthen case for prostate cancer drug before chemotherapy

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
No Result
View All Result
Urology Today
No Result
View All Result
Home Urology / Nephrology News

Study suggests another look at testosterone-prostate cancer link

by Urology Today
September 8, 2020
in Urology / Nephrology News
0
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The long-standing prohibition against testosterone therapy in men with untreated or low-risk prostate cancer merits reevaluation, according to a new study published in The Journal of Urology.

“For many decades it had been believed that a history of prostate cancer, even if treated and cured, was an absolute contraindication to testosterone therapy, due to the belief that testosterone activated prostate cancer growth, and could potentially cause dormant cancer cells to grow rapidly,” says Abraham Morgentaler, MD of Men’s Health Boston. “Generations of medical students and residents were taught that providing testosterone to a man with prostate cancer was like pouring gasoline on a fire.”

This study, involving 13 symptomatic testosterone deficient men who also had untreated prostate cancer, suggests this traditional view is incorrect, and that testosterone treatment in men does not cause rapid growth of prostate cancer. It is the first to directly and rigorously assess changes in the prostate among men with prostate cancer who received testosterone therapy.

The men received testosterone therapy while undergoing active surveillance for prostate cancer for a median of 2.5 years. Median age was 58.8 years. The initial biopsy Gleason score was 6/10 for 12 of the men, 7/10 for the other (Gleason score grades the aggressiveness of prostate cancer by its microscopic appearance on a scale of 2-10. Gleason 6 is generally considered low to moderately aggressive, and Gleason 7 moderately aggressive).

Mean testosterone concentration increased from 238 to 664 ng/dl with treatment, yet neither prostate specific antigen (PSA) concentrations nor prostate volume showed any change. Follow-up biopsies of the prostate were performed in all men at approximately yearly intervals, and none developed cancer progression. In fact, 54 percent of the follow-up biopsies revealed no cancer at all.

Although the number of men in the study was small, and none had aggressive or advanced prostate cancer, Morgentaler observed, “These men were rigorously followed. The cancers in these men were typical of the prostate cancers for which men have undergone invasive treatment with surgery or radiation for 25 years. Clearly, the traditional belief that higher testosterone necessarily leads to rapid prostate cancer growth is incorrect.”

In a Journal of Urology editorial comment, Martin M. Miner, MD, of the Miriam Hospital and Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University notes the conclusions represent “a remarkable shift in thinking from only five years ago. … If testosterone therapy was not associated with disease progression in men with untreated prostate cancer, how concerned must we be about testosterone therapy in men with treated prostate cancer?”

“An increasing number of newly diagnosed men with prostate cancer opting for active surveillance, and with many of them also desiring treatment for their signs and symptoms of testosterone deficiency, the results suggest a reevaluation of the long standing prohibition against offering testosterone therapy to men with prostate cancer,” says Morgentaler.

Refraining from testosterone therapy due to unmerited prostate cancer fears may have adverse lifestyle and health consequences, since testosterone therapy in testosterone deficient men has been shown to improve symptoms of fatigue, decreased libido, and erectile dysfunction. Testosterone therapy may also improve mood, blood sugar control, increase muscle, decrease fat, and improve bone density. Four recent studies have shown that men with high testosterone levels appear to live longer than men with low levels, although it has not yet been shown that treating men with testosterone increases longevity.

Morgentaler commented on an Italian study that showed that low levels of testosterone were associated with aggressive prostate cancer. The risk of aggressive cancer was reduced for men with normal testosterone compared with men with low testosterone.

In an editorial in the journal Cancer, “Turning Conventional Wisdom Upside Down: Low Serum Testosterone and High-Risk Prostate Cancer Morgentaler wrote, “After seven decades of circumstantial evidence pointing us in the wrong direction, perhaps it is time to consider the once unthinkable – conducting a testosterone therapy trial of sufficient size and duration to determine whether normalization of serum testosterone in older men many reduce the risk of prostate cancer, particularly high-risk prostate cancer.”

###

In addition to Morgentaler, a member of the Division of Urology in the BIDMC Department of Surgery and an associate clinic professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, the study was co-authored by Michael Sweeney, MD of Harvard Medical School and Larry I. Lipshultz, MD, Richard Bennett, MD, Desiderio Avila, Jr., MD, and Mohit Khera, MD, of Baylor Medical College.

The authors reported financial interests and/or other relationships with Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Slate Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Healthcare, GlaxoSmithKline, Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Inc., Eli Lilly & Co., Allergan, Inc., American Medical Systems and Repros Therapeutics.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and currently ranks third in National Institutes of Health funding among independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC is clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a research partner of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox.

###

Contact: Jerry Berger
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
617-667-7308
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Share196Tweet123Share49
Urology Today

Urology Today

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

Urethral pressure profilometry

September 8, 2020
Low Rates of PSA Screening Linked to Increase in Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Low Rates of PSA Screening Linked to Increase in Metastatic Prostate Cancer

November 4, 2022
Embryogenesis -Paediatric Urology

Embryogenesis -Paediatric Urology

November 2, 2022

Genetic basis of genitourinary malformations

0
Embryogenesis -Paediatric Urology

Embryogenesis -Paediatric Urology

0
Upper urinary tract

Upper urinary tract

0
Yoga for Prostate Cancer: Best Yoga exercises to combat prostate growth in men

Yoga for Prostate Cancer: Best Yoga exercises to combat prostate growth in men

November 14, 2022
New treatment can more than double life expectancy for people with prostate cancer: doctor

New treatment can more than double life expectancy for people with prostate cancer

November 14, 2022
Study finds that use of yoga app can reduce urinary incontinence

Study finds that use of yoga app can reduce urinary incontinence

November 9, 2022
Urology Today

Copyright © 2022 Urology Today.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Featured Urology
    • Urologic Oncology
    • Female Urology
    • Pediatric Urology
    • What is Urology?
  • Lifestyle

Copyright © 2022 Urology Today.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In