A Randomized Study of Testosterone Replacement in Patients With Low Risk Hormone Refractory Prostate Cancer

Most hormone-refractory disease is currently defined by rising PSA following androgen ablation and an antiandrogen. These patients are typically asymptomatic and have minimal or no radiologically evident disease by standard bone and CT scans. Therapeutic options are limited, with 3rd line hormonal treatments generally providing only brief durations of benefit in a small minority of patients. Chemotherapy is effective, but the role of this somewhat toxic approach in the asymptomatic patient is debatable. In addition, patients suffer from the long-term side effects of androgen ablation such as muscle wasting, decreased strength, decreased sexual functioning, and impaired cognition. If the hypothesis that androgen replacement can inhibit cancer growth in androgen insensitive patients is correct, such treatment would not only delay disease progression but could also improve quality of life. If the hypothesis is incorrect and androgens actually stimulate growth, the consequences are unlikely to be catastrophic since the selected population has only a minimal disease burden.