Family history of PCa & age-related testosterone.

[pjoshea13]

New study [1].

It's good to see a U.S. study that begins with the premise that testosterone [T] is protective of the prostate & not cancer fuel.

T begins to decline in one's early 30's at a rate of 1% or more each year. There may be an evolutionary explanation for this, but it's not desirable, IMO. Some argue that this is the male equivalent of the menopause - the andropause - & should not be resisted. I was in a pet site some years ago, & read something like: "Your male pet will be "happier" without his testicles." What the female author probably meant by "happier" was more docile & easier to manage, & that may be the appeal of the andropause in some quarters. But I began to feel sorry for the stray cat we took in. He paid a high price for the comforts of our home.

"Studies have suggested that rapid age-related declines of testosterone (T) level may play a critical role in the development of prostate cancer (PCa), and family history of PCa is another well-established risk factor of PCa, which have been reported to be associated with androgen metabolism-related genes."

"We used National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 2003 to 2004 (n = 322) to compare the age-specific T levels in males with a family history of PCa and those without."

"We found that between two younger age groups (ages 20-39 and 40-59), there was a more pronounced drop-off in T levels among men with a family history of PCa compared to men without a family history."

-Patrick

[1] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/309...

Andrology. 2019 Apr 5. doi: 10.1111/andr.12609. [Epub ahead of print]

Family history of prostate cancer and age-related trend of testosterone levels among US males: NHANES 2003-2004.

Zhang X1, Zhong Y2, Taylor N1, Xu X1.

Author information

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Studies have suggested that rapid age-related declines of testosterone (T) level may play a critical role in the development of prostate cancer (PCa), and family history of PCa is another well-established risk factor of PCa, which have been reported to be associated with androgen metabolism-related genes. However, few studies have ever investigated whether a family history of PCa influences the risk of PCa via regulating the age-related trend of T level among males over the life course.

OBJECTIVES:

To examine the association between family history of PCa and age-related trend of T levels.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

We used National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 2003 to 2004 (n = 322) to compare the age-specific T levels in males with a family history of PCa and those without.

RESULTS:

We found that between two younger age groups (ages 20-39 and 40-59), there was a more pronounced drop-off in T levels among men with a family history of PCa compared to men without a family history.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION:

This preliminary analysis suggested that men with a family history of PCa may experience a sharper decline in T level over the life course as compared to males without a family history. However, no conclusions can be made due to small sample sizes. Further longitudinal studies with large sample sizes are needed.

© 2019 American Society of Andrology and European Academy of Andrology.

KEYWORDS:

family history; hormone metabolism; prostate cancer prevention; prostate cancer risk; testosterone

PMID: 30953415 DOI: 10.1111/andr.12609

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Hi Patrick,

This is a topic that needs to be discussed more! Currently, patients that are initially diagnosed from all stages of prostate cancer - many physicians don't add Testosterone blood test.

Folks, did your physician add the Testerone blood test when initially diagnosed with prostate cancer?

This was one of the factors on why I've changed from my original Urologist/Oncologist team. They did not check my testosterone level prior to ADT treatment. I'm perplexed on how these so called "Cancer Institutes" lack fundamental literacy in practice.

From Study: "However, no conclusions can be made due to small sample sizes. Further longitudinal studies with large sample sizes are needed."

A typical clinical trial response...

Researching "existing" patient records, evidence with real outcomes. It can be done, but institutional politics and self-interest - prohibit such habitude. Unfortunately, there's no patient directed lobby to unveil it all...

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Upon discovery of Prostate Cancer, I sought out two Radiation Oncologists fir primary treatment, one for seeds, the other for external. Both used nuclear bone scans and complete blood work which included T. As my primary treatment in under a year, my Medical Oncologist continued with the same plus another two pages of blood work. And, included Urinalysis for a PCa Trial. Maybe it was the academia and research setting...... Fifteen years later, I still have quarterly blood draws three pages in length; plus an Urinalysis for the continuing study. The first items looked at every time are PSA and T.

GD