Testosterone Therapy Won’t Raise Prostate Cancer Risk

A new study finds that long-term testosterone treatment in hypogonadal men does not increase their risk for prostate cancer (PCa).

Physician Ahmad Haider, MD, and colleagues studied 942 hypogonadal men who underwent long-term testosterone treatment at 3 German centers, with patients receiving testosterone undecanoate for up to 16 years.

The patients were split into 3 cohorts. Cohort A included 300 patients with a mean age of 57.7 years. According to the authors, PSA levels increased significantly in this group, rising from 1.77 to 2.0 ng/mL, while mean prostate volume rose from 28.3 to 30.7 mL. PCa was diagnosed in 5 men, for an incidence of 39.4 cases per 10,000 patient years.
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In Cohort B, which included 261 patients with a mean age of 59.5 years, PSA levels also rose dramatically, going from 0.86 to 1.38 ng/mL, and prostate volume increased from 27.9 to 36.9 mL. In this group, PCa was diagnosed in 6 men, for an incidence of 54.5 cases per 10,000 patient years.

Cohort C included 381 patients with a mean age of 42.6 years. Among them, PSA levels rose from 1.6 to 1.9 ng/mL, while prostate volume increased from 16.9 to 19.9 mL. No case of PCa was diagnosed in this group, the authors noted, adding that the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial and the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer found a PCa incidence of 116 and 96.6 cases per 10,000 years, respectively.

Ultimately, Haider and colleagues concluded that the PCa incidence found in the study does not suggest a greater risk of prostate cancer in hypogonadal men undergoing long-term testosterone treatment.

The findings were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, held May 29 – June 2 in Chicago, Ill.

—Mark McGraw