Testosterone in Treating Patients With Progressive Prostate Cancer That No Longer Responds to Hormone Therapy

RATIONALE: High doses of testosterone may be effective in killing prostate cancer cells that no longer respond to hormone therapy. PURPOSE: Phase I trial to study the effectiveness of testosterone in treating patients who have progressive prostate cancer that no longer responds to hormone therapy.

OBJECTIVES: * Determine the safety and maximum tolerated dose of exogenously administered testosterone in patients with progressive androgen-independent prostate cancer who have been in castrate state either surgically or pharmacologically for a minimum of 1 year. * Assess the changes in expression of androgen receptor and other receptors in human biopsy specimens or circulating tumor cells before and after this treatment in this patient population. OUTLINE: This is a dose-escalation study. Patients receive testosterone via an enhanced absorption transdermal system continuously for 28 days. The transdermal patches are changed daily. Cohorts of 3-6 patients receive a fixed daily dose of testosterone with escalating duration of exposure until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is determined. The MTD is defined as the dose preceding that at which 2 of 3 or 2 of 6 patients experience dose-limiting toxicities. Patients are followed at day 1 and at weeks 2 and 4. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 3-18 patients will be accrued for this study.