Surprise: High-Dose Testosterone Therapy Helps Some Men with Advanced Prostate Cancer

Newswise (JANUARY 7, 2015) — In a surprising paradox, the male hormone testosterone, generally thought to be a feeder of prostate cancer, has been found to suppress some advanced prostate cancers and also may reverse resistance to testosterone-blocking drugs used to treat prostate cancer.

The finding, by scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, is reported in the Jan. 7 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

Medical oncologist Samuel Denmeade, M.D., who led the small study of 16 patients with metastatic prostate cancer, warns that the timing of testosterone treatment used in his research is critical and difficult to determine, and says men should not try to self-medicate their cancers with testosterone supplements available over the counter.