Significance of Serum Testosterone Level in Prostate Cancer

, Sang Eun Lee

Review Article

The Korean Journal of Urological Oncology 2009;7(2):61-67.
Published online August 1, 2009.

전립선암에서 혈중 테스토스테론의 의미

이 상 은

서울대학교 의과대학 분당서울대학교병원 비뇨기과학교실

Significance of Serum Testosterone Level in Prostate Cancer

Sang Eun Lee

Department of Urology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea

Correspondence: Sang Eun Lee

Abstract

Relationships between androgenic hormones and prostatic tissue growth are complex. The hormonal hypothesis remains one of the most important hypotheses in the etiology of prostate cancer (PCa), and efforts are continuing to improve the understanding of androgen actions in PCa. In 1941 Huggins and Hodges reported that marked reductions in testosterone (T) by castration or estrogen treatment caused metastatic pCA to regress, and administration of exogenous T caused pCA to grow. For several decades it has been assumed that higher testosterone (T) leads to greater growth of malignant prostate tissue, but this view has come under greater scrutiny over the last several years. Although evidence from epidemiological studies of associations between circulating levels of androgens and PCa risk has been inconsistent, the traditional view that higher testosterone (T) levels represent a risk factor for PCa appears to have little evidentiary support. The present review considers the metabolism and the association between T and PCa risk. (Korean J Urol Oncol 2009;7:61-67)

Key Words: Prognosis, Prostate cancer, Risk, Testosterone