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Aggressive prostate cancer risk not higher with testosterone therapy

The length of time of testosterone treatment, as well as number of injections, did not have any effect on prostate cancer after men had been diagnosed.

By Stephen Feller
Dr. Jacques Baillargeon, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, led the research finding testosterone therapy does not increase the risk for aggressive prostate cancer. Photo by UTMB
Dr. Jacques Baillargeon, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, led the research finding testosterone therapy does not increase the risk for aggressive prostate cancer. Photo by UTMB

GALVESTON, Texas, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Researchers found in a recent study that testosterone therapy for over a five-year period did not increase the risk for aggressive prostate cancer, nor did the number of injections increase the risk of developing the disease.

Prostate cancer generally is a slow-growing disease, however researchers mounted the study based on concerns by doctors and a lack of research in the area for patients who'd been on testosterone therapy for more than a year.

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"Given the slow growth of prostate cancer development, this investigation offers novel and important information to physicians, patients and the general public," said Dr. Jacques Baillargeon, a professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch, in a press release. "This study's findings offer important information regarding the risk-benefit assessment for men with testosterone deficiency who are considering treatment."

The researchers used data collected by the National Cancer Institute as part of the SEER study on 52,579 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2001 and 2006, and had been enrolled in Medicare for at least five years before being diagnosed.

Of the men with prostate cancer, 579 had used testosterone in the five years before their diagnosis. They found that neither the length of time men had been receiving testosterone therapy nor the number of injections they'd received increased the risk for the disease.

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The study is published in the Journal of Urology.

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