In a puzzling paradox, the male hormone testosterone, typically referred to as a contributing factor to prostate cancer, has been found to quash some advanced prostate cancers. According to Miami urologist Dr. George Suarez, scientists at the Johns Hopkins University’s Kimmel Cancer Centre also advised that testosterone therapy may overturn resistance to testosterone-blocking medications typically used to treat prostate cancer.
These results indicate that testosterone therapy has the potential of reversing the resistance that develops to testosterone-blocking drugs. In men whose prostate cancer spreads, your Miami urologist will normally prescribe drugs that block testosterone production, but cancer cells eventually become unaffected this method of reducing the hormone.
For the study, the researchers enrolled 16 men who had been getting testosterone-lowering treatment for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer. The men were each given three 28-day cycles of an injection of testosterone in their muscle and two weeks of a chemotherapy medication called etoposide.
Men who experienced a decrease in the levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) – a blood marker for prostate cancer – after three cycles were sustained on testosterone injections alone.
However, your Miami urologist advises that men should not try to self-medicate their cancers with over-the-counter testosterone supplements.
If you have questions regarding testosterone therapy for the treatment of prostate cancer, call the office of best Miami urologist Dr. George Suarez today to schedule a confidential consultation.
