Persistent Testosterone Suppression After Cessation of Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer

Introduction Many men receiving temporary androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for localized prostate cancer fail to achieve baseline testosterone levels after cessation. Testosterone recovery in men with localized prostate cancer receiving temporary ADT was assessed. Methods A global federated health research network (TriNetX) was used to identify men diagnosed with prostate cancer undergoing temporary ADT. Two cohorts were identified: men receiving luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) antagonists or LHRH agonists, and men receiving combined ADT (LHRH agonist and antiandrogens). Further stratification was based on a treatment duration of six months (short-term) or 18 months (long-term) to compare testosterone (T) recovery profiles five years after ADT cessation. Results A total of 28,583 men received LHRH agonist or antagonist therapy alone, and 20,188 men received combination ADT. A total of 46.7% of men who received short-term LHRH agonists or antagonists and 40.6% of men who received short-term combined ADT, recovered to mean baseline T levels at five years. Only men who received short-term LHRH agonists/antagonists recovered to eugonadal levels at the five-year follow-up. Around 50% of men who received long-term LHRH agonist/antagonist therapy and 10.7% of men who received combined ADT, recovered to mean baseline T levels at five years. However, neither group recovered to eugonadal T levels. Conclusions At the five-year follow-up after ADT cessation, most patients failed to recover to their mean baseline and eugonadal T levels. Given that testosterone deficiency is associated with metabolically adverse changes in body composition, increased insulin resistance, impaired bone health, and hypogonadal symptoms, serum T levels must be closely monitored in men receiving ADT following treatment cessation.