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Serum testosterone and prostate cancer in men with germline BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants

Dias A 1 , Brook MN 1 , Bancroft EK 1 , Page EC 1 , Chamberlain A 2 , Saya S 1 Show all authors , Amin J 3 , Mikropoulos C 1 , Taylor N 1 , Myhill K 1 , Thomas S 1 , Saunders E 1 , Dadaev T 1 , Leongamornlert D 1 , Dyrsø Jensen T 4 , Evans DG 5 , Cybulski C 6 , Liljegren A 7 , Teo SH 8 , Side L 9 , IMPACT study collaborators and Steering Committee , Kote-Jarai Z 1 , Eeles RA 1

Affiliations 

  • 1 Oncogenetics Team The Institute of Cancer Research London UK
  • 2 Academic Urology Unit Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust London UK
  • 3 Clinical Biochemistry Section Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust London UK
  • 4 Department of Clinical Genetics Vejle Hospital Vejle Denmark
  • 5 Genetic Medicine, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Manchester UK
  • 6 International Hereditary Cancer Center, Department of Genetics and Pathology Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin Szczecin Poland
  • 7 Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet Stockholm Sweden
  • 8 Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation Subang Jaya Medical Centre Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia
  • 9 Wessex Clinical Genetics Service Princess Anne Hospital Southampton UK
BJUI Compass, 2023 May;4(3):361-373.
PMID: 37025481 DOI: 10.1002/bco2.156

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The relation of serum androgens and the development of prostate cancer (PCa) is subject of debate. Lower total testosterone (TT) levels have been associated with increased PCa detection and worse pathological features after treatment. However, data from the Reduction by Dutasteride of Prostate Cancer Events (REDUCE) and Prostate Cancer Prevention (PCPT) trial groups indicate no association. The aim of this study is to investigate the association of serum androgen levels and PCa detection in a prospective screening study of men at higher genetic risk of aggressive PCa due to BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants (PVs), the IMPACT study.

METHODS: Men enrolled in the IMPACT study provided serum samples during regular visits. Hormonal levels were calculated using immunoassays. Free testosterone (FT) was calculated from TT and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) using the Sodergard mass equation. Age, body mass index (BMI), prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and hormonal concentrations were compared between genetic cohorts. We also explored associations between age and TT, SHBG, FT and PCa, in the whole subset and stratified by BRCA1/2 PVs status.

RESULTS: A total of 777 participants in the IMPACT study had TT and SHBG measurements in serum samples at annual visits, giving 3940 prospective androgen levels, from 266 BRCA1 PVs carriers, 313 BRCA2 PVs carriers and 198 non-carriers. The median number of visits per patient was 5. There was no difference in TT, SHBG and FT between carriers and non-carriers. In a univariate analysis, androgen levels were not associated with PCa. In the analysis stratified by carrier status, no significant association was found between hormonal levels and PCa in non-carriers, BRCA1 or BRCA2 PVs carriers.

CONCLUSIONS: Male BRCA1/2 PVs carriers have a similar androgen profile to non-carriers. Hormonal levels were not associated with PCa in men with and without BRCA1/2 PVs. Mechanisms related to the particularly aggressive phenotype of PCa in BRCA2 PVs carriers may therefore not be linked with circulating hormonal levels.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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