Association between serum sex hormone levels and prostate cancer: effect of prostate cancer on serum testosterone levels.
Androgens are essential for prostatic growth and development, but also play a significant role in the pathogenesis of prostate disease. The traditional view that higher testosterone levels represent a risk factor for prostate cancer (PCa) appears to have little evidentiary support. Some studies have described a relationship between lower testosterone levels and more advanced disease. Serum androgen levels, within a broad range, are thus suggested to show no association with PCa risk, whereas low rather than high serum testosterone levels have been found to be associated with advanced or high-grade disease at the time of PCa diagnosis. Dihydrotestosterone, the principal prostatic androgen, is transformed from testosterone by type 1 and type 2 5alpha-reductase, and therapeutic benefits may thus be potentially achieved through the inhibition of 5alpha-reductase.
Department of Urology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba 260-8670, Japan. t-imamo@pg7.so-net.ne.jp
Takashi
T
Imamoto
Hiroyoshi
H
Suzuki
Takanobu
T
Utsumi
Takumi
T
Endo
Makoto
M
Takano
Masashi
M
Yano
Koji
K
Kawamura
Naoto
N
Kamiya
Naoki
N
Nihei
Yukio
Y
Naya
Tomohiko
T
Ichikawa
D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood*
D013739:Testosterone