Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported on Mar. 10 that prostate cancer patients with low testosterone levels may face a greater risk of their disease progressing to a more aggressive form while under active surveillance.
This finding is important because it could help doctors better identify which patients need closer monitoring or earlier intervention. Active surveillance is commonly recommended for men with low-risk prostate cancer, allowing them to avoid or delay treatment unless the cancer becomes more aggressive.
The study, published in The Journal of Urology, found that men with baseline testosterone levels at or below 300 ng/dl had a significantly higher chance of their cancer advancing to Grade group 3 or higher, which indicates a more serious disease. Researchers analyzed clinical and pathological data from over 900 men who were being monitored through active surveillance. They found that low testosterone was linked to an increased likelihood of disease progression even after considering other factors such as age, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), body mass index (BMI), tumor density, and tumor size.
The researchers emphasized that the study does not show that low testosterone causes aggressive prostate cancer. Instead, they said there is an association between the two that could help guide decisions about how closely patients should be monitored. More research will be needed to confirm these results and determine whether measuring testosterone can reliably predict future progression risk for individual patients.
These findings may influence how physicians approach monitoring strategies for men choosing active surveillance for prostate cancer in the future.
