Miyazawa Y, et al. – In this study, testicular and adrenal androgen levels in patients treated with a gonadotropin–releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist were assessed. It has been validated that serum adrenal androgen levels decreased significantly in patients treated with a GnRH antagonist. Therefore, long–term GnRH antagonist treatment may reduce serum adrenal androgen levels.

Methods

• Researchers recruited 47 patients with histologically proven prostate cancer.
• Thereafter, all of the patients were treated with the GnRH antagonist degarelix.
• 73.6 years was the mean patient age .
• They collected pre–treatment blood samples from all of the patients, and post–treatment samples were taken at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after starting treatment.
• They further measured testosterone (T), dihydrotestosterone (DHT), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), 17(beta)–estradiol (E2), and androstenedione (A–dione) by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry.
• They also tested dehydroepiandrosterone–sulfate (DHEA–S), luteinizing hormone, and follicle–stimulating hormone levels by electro–chemiluminescence immunoassays.

Results

• They found a significant reduction in T level (97.3% reduction) in the patients 1 month after initiating treatment.
• It was noted that levels of DHT, E2, DHEA–S, and A–dione decreased 1 month after initiating treatment (93.3, 84.9, 16.8, and 35.9% reduction, respectively).
• The data showed that T, DHT, E2, DHEA–S, and A–dione levels remained significantly suppressed (97.1, 94.6, 85.3, 23.9, and 40.5% reduction, respectively) 12 months after initiating treatment.
• They obtained a significant decrease in DHEA level (15.4% reduction), 12 months after initiating treatment.