For six decades, it has been a part of the conventional medical wisdom that higher levels of testosterone increase the risk of prostate cancer.
This belief is mostly derived from the well-documented regression of prostate cancer after surgical or pharmacological castration. However, there is an absence of scientific data supporting the concept that higher testosterone levels are associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. Moreover, men with hypogonadism have substantial rates of prostate cancer in prostatic biopsies, suggesting that low testosterone has no protective effect against the development of prostate cancer. Moreover, prostate cancer rate is higher in elderly patients when hormonal levels are low. These results argue against an increased risk of prostate cancer with testosterone replacement therapy.
Written by:
Castillo OA, López-Fontana G, Vidal-Mora I, López Laur JD. Are you the author?
Unidad de Urología, Clínica INDISA, Santiago, Chile; Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, Chile; Av. Santa María #1810, Providencia, Santiago, Chile; Cátedra de Urología, Facultad Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina.
Reference: Medwave. 2015 Apr 6;15(3):e6115.
doi: 10.5867/medwave.2015.03.6115
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 25919660
Article in Spanish.