Are serum hormones associated with the risk of prostate cancer? Prospective results from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study

Objectives. To determine whether prediagnostic serum hormones are predictiv e of prostate cancer risk in a sample of men 40 to 70 years old at baseline . Methods. Seventeen serum hormones, including androgens, estrogens, and adre nal and pituitary hormones, were measured at baseline (1987 to 1989) and us ed to predict incident prostate cancer by follow-up (1995 to 1997) using da ta from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study, a prospective, population-based random sample. Results. Seventy men (4%) of 1576 were diagnosed with prostate cancer betwe en the baseline and follow-up periods (approximately 8 years). None of the hormones were associated with prostate cancer risk except for androstanedio l glucuronide (AAG), which exhibited a nonlinear, inverse relationship with prostate cancer (P <0.003) when age, body mass index, alcohol use, dihydro testosterone, and total prostate-specific antigen were controlled for. Men in the second, third, and fourth quartiles of AAG relative to the first wer e less likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, although only the compa rison of the second versus the first achieved statistical significance (odd s ratio 0.2, 99% confidence interval 0.04 to 0.6), No dose-response relatio nships were observed. Conclusions. The lack of association with most hormones and the nonlinear a ssociation with AAG calls into question whether serum hormones collected du ring midlife are risk factors for prostate cancer. UROLOGY 57: 930-935, 200 1. (C) 2001, Elsevier Science Inc.