EFFECT OF EXOGENOUS TESTOSTERONE REPLACEMENT ON PROSTATE-SPECIFIC ANTIGEN AND PROSTATE-SPECIFIC MEMBRANE ANTIGEN LEVELS IN HYPOGONADAL MEN

Previous studies have suggested that serum prostate-specific antigen ( PSA) levels are under androgenic influence, especially in patients wit h adenocarcinoma of the prostate. PSMA (prostate-specific membrane ant igen) is thought to reflect hormonal or clonal resistance or an indepe ndence with respect to testosterone regulation. The influence of testo sterone on serum PSA expression in normal men is not clear. We studied the effect of exogenous testosterone administration on the serum leve ls of PSA and PSMA in hypogonadal men. Serial serum PSA, serum PSMA by Western blot, and serum total testosterone levels were obtained at in tervals of every 2-4 weeks in 10 hypogonadal men undergoing treatment with exogenous testosterone, delivered as testosterone enanthate injec tion or by testosterone patch. Linear and quadratic orthogonal polynom ial scores were calculated for PSMA, PSA, and testosterone. A 2-tailed , paired t-test failed to demonstrate a significant correlation betwee n serum PSA (linear P = 0.432, quadratic P = 0.290) or PSMA (linear P = 0.162, quadratic P = 0.973) and serum testosterone levels. This stud y suggests that in hypogonadal men, neither PSMA nor PSA expression is testosterone-dependent, (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.