Considerations for the use of testosterone with systemic chemotherapy in prostatic cancer

Among 52 patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the prostate who were treated with exogenous testosterone, 45 (87%) experienced unfavorable subjective and/or objective responses. These unfavorable responses were elicited more frequently and after shorter treatment periods in patients in symptomatic relapse following endocrine therapy than in untreated patients or patients in remission following endocrine therapy. Serious morbidity or mortality, seemingly due to the testosterone administration, occurred in eight cases (15%). It is not known if the action of chemotherapeutic agents will be enhanced by concurrent testosterone therapy but any such investigation should be undertaken with extreme caution.