Relationship between plasma testosterone levels and some clinical and imaging parameters in patients with prostate cancer

Abstract

Introduction: prostate cancer is the solid tumor that appears most frequently in men older than 50 years.

Objective: to describe the relationship between plasma testosterone levels and some clinical and imaging parameters in patients with prostate cancer treated at the General Provincial Teaching Hospital in Ciego de Ávila.

Method: a cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in the period from January 2012 to December 2015. The population studied was constituted by 117 patients with histological confirmation of the disease.

Results: groups of 76-85 years (36,75 %) and 66-75 years (34,19 %) predominated. All of them presented high levels of prostate-specific antigen, and of these 94,87 % with high risk. The majority (95,73 %) did not presented testosterone levels in castration figures. The main imaging lesions were located in the prostate (77,78 %). The tumor markers were elevated: lactate dehydrogenase (65,81 %) and alkaline phosphatase (64,10 %). Only 5,15 % of those who had affected two lobes of the prostate, had levels in castration values. 94, 51 % of the patients with testosterone levels above the castration values only presented lesions in the prostate without metastasis according to the imaging studies.

Conclusions: the results of the digital physical examination of the prostate and the imaging studies had no relation with the plasma testosterone values after the hormonal treatment