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Do evolutionary life-history trade-offs influence prostate cancer risk? a review of population variation in testosterone levels and prostate cancer disparities
An accumulation of evidence suggests that increased exposure to androgens is associated with prostate cancer risk. The unrestricted energy budget that is typical of Western diets represents a novel departure from the conditions in which men's steroid physiology evolved and is capable of support...
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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Blackwell Publishing Ltd
2013
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3567477/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23396824 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/eva.12036 |
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author | Alvarado, Louis Calistro |
author_facet | Alvarado, Louis Calistro |
author_sort | Alvarado, Louis Calistro |
collection | PubMed |
description | An accumulation of evidence suggests that increased exposure to androgens is associated with prostate cancer risk. The unrestricted energy budget that is typical of Western diets represents a novel departure from the conditions in which men's steroid physiology evolved and is capable of supporting distinctly elevated testosterone levels. Although nutritional constraints likely underlie divergent patterns of testosterone secretion between Westernized and non-Western men, considerable variability exists in men's testosterone levels and prostate cancer rates within Westernized populations. Here, I use evolutionary life history theory as a framework to examine prostate cancer risk. Life history theory posits trade-offs between investment in early reproduction and long-term survival. One corollary of life history theory is the ‘challenge hypothesis’, which predicts that males augment testosterone levels in response to intrasexual competition occurring within reproductive contexts. Understanding men's evolved steroid physiology may contribute toward understanding susceptibility to prostate cancer. Among well-nourished populations of Westerners, men's testosterone levels already represent an outlier of cross-cultural variation. I hypothesize that Westernized men in aggressive social environments, characterized by intense male–male competition, will further augment testosterone production aggravating prostate cancer risk. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-3567477 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2013 |
publisher | Blackwell Publishing Ltd |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-35674772013-02-08 Do evolutionary life-history trade-offs influence prostate cancer risk? a review of population variation in testosterone levels and prostate cancer disparities Alvarado, Louis Calistro Evol Appl Synthesis An accumulation of evidence suggests that increased exposure to androgens is associated with prostate cancer risk. The unrestricted energy budget that is typical of Western diets represents a novel departure from the conditions in which men's steroid physiology evolved and is capable of supporting distinctly elevated testosterone levels. Although nutritional constraints likely underlie divergent patterns of testosterone secretion between Westernized and non-Western men, considerable variability exists in men's testosterone levels and prostate cancer rates within Westernized populations. Here, I use evolutionary life history theory as a framework to examine prostate cancer risk. Life history theory posits trade-offs between investment in early reproduction and long-term survival. One corollary of life history theory is the ‘challenge hypothesis’, which predicts that males augment testosterone levels in response to intrasexual competition occurring within reproductive contexts. Understanding men's evolved steroid physiology may contribute toward understanding susceptibility to prostate cancer. Among well-nourished populations of Westerners, men's testosterone levels already represent an outlier of cross-cultural variation. I hypothesize that Westernized men in aggressive social environments, characterized by intense male–male competition, will further augment testosterone production aggravating prostate cancer risk. Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2013-01 2012-12-11 /pmc/articles/PMC3567477/ /pubmed/23396824 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/eva.12036 Text en Journal compilation © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ Re-use of this article is permitted in accordance with the Creative Commons Deed, Attribution 2.5, which does not permit commercial exploitation. |
spellingShingle | Synthesis Alvarado, Louis Calistro Do evolutionary life-history trade-offs influence prostate cancer risk? a review of population variation in testosterone levels and prostate cancer disparities |
title | Do evolutionary life-history trade-offs influence prostate cancer risk? a review of population variation in testosterone levels and prostate cancer disparities |
title_full | Do evolutionary life-history trade-offs influence prostate cancer risk? a review of population variation in testosterone levels and prostate cancer disparities |
title_fullStr | Do evolutionary life-history trade-offs influence prostate cancer risk? a review of population variation in testosterone levels and prostate cancer disparities |
title_full_unstemmed | Do evolutionary life-history trade-offs influence prostate cancer risk? a review of population variation in testosterone levels and prostate cancer disparities |
title_short | Do evolutionary life-history trade-offs influence prostate cancer risk? a review of population variation in testosterone levels and prostate cancer disparities |
title_sort | do evolutionary life-history trade-offs influence prostate cancer risk? a review of population variation in testosterone levels and prostate cancer disparities |
topic | Synthesis |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3567477/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23396824 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/eva.12036 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT alvaradolouiscalistro doevolutionarylifehistorytradeoffsinfluenceprostatecancerriskareviewofpopulationvariationintestosteronelevelsandprostatecancerdisparities |