One of the most frequently mentioned side effects for hormone replacement therapy as a treatment for low testosterone in men is an increased risk of developing prostate cancer. However, as in the Million Women study, which links HRT and breast cancer, the evidence to support this belief is dated and is probably false. In fact, according to some modern studies, low testosterone is actually a risk factor for types of male cancer.
The origins of the theory that the replacement of testosterone increased the risk of prostate cancer, returned to a study conducted at the University of Chicago in the 1940s by a group led by urologist Charles Huggins. Based on experiments conducted first on dogs and then on humans, the Huggins group concluded that prostate cancer was dependent on androgens — when the testosterone level was high, the cancer worsened, but when the levels were reduced, the cancer decreased. Huggins & # 39; the theory led to surgical infection — removal of the testicles — became the standard treatment for prostate cancer due to the resulting decrease in testosterone. Huggins was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1966 for these contributions to medical research.
Huggins & # 39; The results made scientists and doctors believe for many years that testosterone and prostate cancer levels were related, despite the fact that his experiments did not test and did not prove it and were limited to a small number of subjects. This has led medical professionals to be skeptical of hormone replacement therapy, fearing that this may lead to the development of prostate cancer. Many avoided the appointment of HRT, despite its benefits.
Over time, more research has been done, and studies have shown that men with low testosterone developed prostate cancer at a higher average rate, and that testosterone caused only progression of prostate cancer in men who were castrated, and not in men who Testosterone was still produced naturally. The proposed link between testosterone and prostate cancer should be reviewed.
Sometimes the medical community began to change its melody because it was presented with new evidence. A number of studies conducted in the 2000s, including those published by the Journal of Medicine in New England and the Mayo Clinic, showed no correlation between elevated testosterone levels and prostate cancer. Separate studies conducted by Abraham Morgentiatem, a leading physician in this area, showed that an increase in testosterone levels in men already diagnosed with prostate cancer did not cause further development of the disease and that men in a lower range of testosterone levels actually had a higher risk of developing cancer prostate gland than men with higher levels. It is now clear that the link between testosterone and prostate cancer was misunderstood during most of the 20th century, and that hormone replacement as a means of supplementing low testosterone levels in men will not cause illness.
Therefore, if you are a person who suspects that he may have low testosterone levels, and he is considering hormone replacement therapy, you can rest easy. HRT will not give you prostate cancer; in fact, it can help prevent this.
