BERKELEY, CA (UroToday.com) - Owing to inconsistencies and methodological differences, the present peer-reviewed literature lacks conclusive data on the intraprostatic levels of androgens, in particular dihydrotestosterone (DHT), in untreated benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer.
To date, no difference has been shown between DHT concentrations in normal prostatic tissue and BPH, and nor has a difference been shown in DHT concentrations between the histologically distinct regions of the prostate. Recent literature has also failed to show a consistent difference in androgen level between BPH and prostate cancer. The role of intraprostatic DHT in the pathogenesis of BPH and in the initiation and progression of prostate cancer thus remains to be established. Increased knowledge of the mechanisms of the androgenic steroid pathways in prostatic diseases, with a special focus on intraprostatic androgen levels may lead to more optimized and more personalized forms of treatment, and probably new therapeutic targets as well...View or save the full text Mini Review as a .pdf file
Tim M. van der Sluis, André N. Vis, R. Jeroen A. van Moorselaar, Hong N. Bui,* Marinus A. Blankenstein,* Eric J.H. Meuleman and Annemieke C. Heijboer*
Departments of Urology and *Clinical Chemistry, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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