title: Pretreatment serum testosterone and androgen deprivation: effect on disease recurrence and overall survival in prostate cancer patients treated with brachytherapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Low testosterone has been implicated as a possible adverse prognostic factor in patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer. We evaluated the impact of pretreatment serum testosterone on survival after prostate brachytherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  From October 2001 to November 2004, 619 patients underwent brachytherapy and 546 had a pretreatment serum testosterone level measured. Pretreatment serum testosterone levels were assigned by the following criteria: below-normal (n = 105), low normal (n = 246), mid normal (n = 132), high normal (n = 50), and above normal (n = 13). Median follow-up was 5.2 years. Cause of death was determined for each deceased patient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six-year biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS), cause-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) were 97.7%, 99.8%, and 89.2%. When comparing patients with low or low normal testosterone with those with average or higher testosterone, there was no significant difference in bPFS (97.6% vs. 98.4%; p = 0.72), CSS (99.8% vs. 100%; p = 0.72), or OS (88.9% vs. 90.8%; p = 0.73). Among patients with average and higher pretreatment testosterone, there was no significant difference in outcomes when comparing patients who did and did not receive androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). For patients with low or low normal testosterone levels, there was no significant difference in bPFS or CSS when comparing patients who did and did not receive ADT. However, there was a trend toward lower OS in patients with baseline lower testosterone levels who also received ADT (83.9% vs. 91.3%, p = 0.075).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low pretreatment testosterone levels alone did not affect disease recurrence or OS. Patients with baseline low testosterone who also were treated with ADT had a trend toward decreased OS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
authors.forename: Al V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Taira
authors.forename: Gregory S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Merrick
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Galbreath
authors.forename: Wayne M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.forename: Kent E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Wallner
authors.forename: Zachariah A
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Jonathan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lief
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adamovich
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000726:Androgen Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001918:Brachytherapy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D012016:Reference Values; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D000726:Androgen Antagonists; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D013739:Testosterone