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Published on April 7, 2015 | http://doi.org/10.5867/medwave.2015.03.6115

Testosterone replacement therapy and prostate cancer: the downfall of a paradigm?

Terapia de reemplazo con testosterona y cáncer de próstata: ¿la caída de un paradigma?

Octavio A. Castillo , Gastón López-Fontana, Ivar Vidal-Mora, José Daniel López Laur

Abstract

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.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Esta licencia permite el uso, distribución y reproducción del artículo en cualquier medio, siempre y cuando se otorgue el crédito correspondiente al autor del artículo y al medio en que se publica, en este caso, Medwave.

Authors

Octavio A. Castillo

ivarvidal@gmail.com

Av

Gastón López-Fontana

Unidad de Urología, Clínica INDISA, Santiago, Chile

Ivar Vidal-Mora

Unidad de Urología, Clínica INDISA, Santiago, Chile

José Daniel López Laur

Cátedra de Urología, Facultad Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina

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History

Citation Castillo OA, López-Fontana G, Vidal-Mora I, López Laur JD. Testosterone replacement therapy and prostate cancer: the downfall of a paradigm?. Medwave 2015;15(03):e6115 doi: 10.5867/medwave.2015.03.6115

Submission date 10/12/2014

Acceptance date 16/03/2015

Publication date 07/04/2015

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Notes

Keywords

prostate cancer, familial; testosterone; hypogonadism; hormone replacement therapy

Origin and peer review

con revisión por dos pares revisores externos, a doble ciego

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