Longitudinal evaluation of serum androgen levels in men with and without prostate cancer

Androgens are thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer. We evaluated androgen levels in 3 age‐matched groups of men who were part of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging: 1) 16 men with no prostatic disease by urologic history and exam (control group); 2) 20 men with a histologic diagnosis of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) who had undergone simple prostatectomy; and 3) 20 men with a histologic diagnosis of prostate cancer (16 with local/regional cancer, and 4 with metastatic cancer). Luteinizing hormone (LH), total testosterone (T), and free T were measured on stored AM sera by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Free T was also calculated from the measured concentrations of total T and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). The median number of repeated sex steroid measurements ranged from 6–9 over a period from 7–25 years prior to the diagnosis of prostate disease. There were no significant differences in age‐adjusted LH, total T, SHBG, or calculated free T levels among the groups at 0–5, 5–10, and 10–15 years before diagnosis. These data suggest that there are no measurable differences in serum testosterone levels among men who are destined to develop prostate cancer and those without the disease. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.