Research

Hormonal

Testosterone administration is absolutely contraindicated in men with clinical (metastatic) prostate cancer because androgen supplementation promotes tumor growth and progression.

If you have been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, you must NOT take testosterone replacement therapy. It will cause your cancer to grow and spread. The standard treatment is to lower testosterone levels (androgen ablation).

StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
Therefore, testosterone administration is absolutely contraindicated in men with a clinical prostate cancer... a study (Fowler and Whitmore 1981) of patients with metastatic prostate cancer documented tumor progression in 33 of 34 patients who received testosterone supplementation
Shalender Bhasin et al. · Journal of Andrology · 2003

Why this rating

Based on historical clinical observations of tumor regression with castration and progression with androgen supplementation.

Source

Managing the Risks of Prostate Disease During Testosterone Replacement Therapy in Older Men: Recommendations for a Standardized Monitoring Plan

Shalender Bhasin et al. · Journal of Andrology · 2003

DOI 10.1002/j.1939-4640.2003.tb02676.x

narrative_reviewCited 221×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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