Androgen replacement therapy in hypogonadal men undergone radical retropubic prostatectomy

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the effectiveness and safety of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in a cohort of hypogonadal patients treated withradical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) for localized prostate cancer.
Materials and Methods: the results of treatment of sixteen patients that underwent RRP for organ confined prostate cancer from 2001 to 2005 are analyzed. Before and after realization of TRT the content of the total testosterone in the blood serum, level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in blood as well as intensity of the symptomatology according to the Aging Male Symptoms (AMS) Scale.
Results: At a mean duration of TRT for 15 months the TT raised from 6.5±1.98 nmol/l to 19.2±5.1 nmol/l (р < 0.01), the AMS score decreased from 40.4±5.4 to 20.8±3.8. No biochemical or clinical evidence of prostate cancer was found in any of the patients.
Conclusions: Based on the clinical experience with this group of 16 patients and the data of the literature, we conclude that highly selected hypogonadal patients surgically cured of prostate cancer can be treated with TRT safely with beneficial results, although to formulate the clinical guidelines on TRT use in patients surgically cured of prostate cancer, the large prospective multicenter studies with a big amount of patients are essential.