Prognostic and predictive value of plasma testosterone levels in patients receiving first-line chemotherapy for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer

BACKGROUND: Biomarkers for metastatic castration-resistant prostatic cancer (mCRPC) are an unmet medical need. METHODS: The prognostic and predictive value for survival and response to salvage hormonal therapy (SHT) of baseline testosterone level (TL) was analysed in a cohort of 101 mCRPC patients participating in 9 non-hormonal first-line chemotherapy phase II–III trials. Inclusion criteria in all trials required a TL of <50 ng dl(−1). RESULTS: Median age: 70 years; visceral metastases: 19.8% median prostate-specific antigen (PSA): 50.7 ng ml(−1); median TL: 11.5 ng dl(−1). Median overall survival (OS; 24.5 months) was significantly longer if baseline TL was above (High TL; n=52) than under (Low TL; n=49) the TL median value (32.7 vs 22.4 months, respectively; P=0.0162, hazard ratio (HR)=0.6). The presence of anaemia was an unfavourable prognostic factor (median OS: 20.6 vs 28.4 months; P=0.0025, HR=1.88 (CI95%: 1.01–3.48)). Patients presenting both anaemia and low testosterone had a worse outcome compared to those with one or none of them (median OS: 17.9 vs 22.4 vs 38.1 months; P=0.0024). High vs Low TL was associated with PSA response rate (55.6% vs 21.7%) in 41 patients receiving SHT. CONCLUSION: Testosterone level under castration range was a prognostic factor for survival mCRPC patients. The PSA response to SHT differed depending on TLs. Testosterone levels might help in treatment decision.