Androgen deprivation therapy increases brain ageing

Background: Prostate cancer (PC) is the most frequent neoplasia in the male population and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is frequently used in the management of the disease. Aim: To evaluate the effect of ADT exposure on cognitive status, grey matter volume (GMV) and white matter lesion (WML) load. Methods: Fifty ADT patients and fifteen PC-non-ADT (control) patients were included in the study. A neuropsychological evaluation was performed and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with anatomical T1 and FLAIR sequences, was performed to evaluate the GMV and the WML burden. Results: Most of the patients included in the study presented a significant cognitive impairment (CI). No significant differences were identified in the cognitive assessment between the studied groups, but when considering the educational background intragroup differences were found. No significant difference of GMV and WML volume were identified between groups, but a negative relationship between the ADT period and the GMV was identified. Furthermore, a significant positive association between the age and the lesion volume was found in the ADT group (β=.406; p=.004). Conclusion: PC patients exposed to ADT present an acceleration of age-related brain changes, such as WML development and GMV loss.