Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018;20(2):63-68.
doi: 10.3909/riu0798.

Effectiveness of Subcutaneously Administered Leuprolide Acetate to Achieve Low Nadir Testosterone in Prostate Cancer Patients

Affiliations

Effectiveness of Subcutaneously Administered Leuprolide Acetate to Achieve Low Nadir Testosterone in Prostate Cancer Patients

Christopher M Pieczonka et al. Rev Urol. 2018.

Erratum in

Abstract

Evidence suggests lower nadir testosterone levels during the first year of androgen deprivation therapy improve advanced prostate cancer clinical outcomes. We evaluated pivotal trials for subcutaneously administered leuprolide acetate (1-, 3-, 4-, and 6-month doses) to determine nadir testosterone levels. Pooled analysis showed 99%, 97%, and 91% of patients reached nadir testosterone ≤20, ≤10, and ≤5 ng/dL respectively (median ≤3 ng/dL). Across all available categories, $88% of patients reached nadir testosterone ≤5 ng/dL, and <3% experienced a microsurge. Achievement and maintenance of low nadir testosterone levels may improve progression-free survival and time to onset of castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

Keywords: Androgen deprivation therapy; LHRH agonist; Leuprolide acetate; Nadir testosterone; Prostate cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Median time to testosterone ≤10, ≤20, or ≤50 ng/dL. (B) Proportion of time testosterone levels maintained ≤10, ≤20, or ≤50 ng/dL.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportion of time testosterone below suppression target* (illustrative for T ≤20 ng/dL). *Proportion of time below target calculated by dividing the total time below target by the time after target first achieved.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Proportion of patients by nadir testosterone level achieved over study duration (n = 437).

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Siddiqui MM, Rais-Bahrami S, Turkbey B, et al. Comparison of MR/ultrasound fusion-guided biopsy with ultrasound-guided biopsy for the diagnosis of prostate cancer. JAMA. 2015;313:390–397. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Perachino M, Cavalli V, Bravi F. Testosterone levels in patients with metastatic prostate cancer treated with luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone therapy: prognostic significance? BJU Int. 2010;105:648–651. - PubMed
    1. Huggins C, Hodges CV. Studies on prostatic cancer. I. The effect of castration, of estrogen and of androgen injection on serum phosphatases in metastatic carcinoma of the prostate. AACR. 1941;1:293–297. - PubMed
    1. Oefelein MG, Feng A, Scolieri MJ, et al. Reassessment of the definition of castrate levels of testosterone: implications for clinical decision making. Urology. 2000;56:1021–1024. - PubMed
    1. van der Sluis TM, Bui HN, Meuleman EJ, et al. Lower testosterone levels with luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist therapy than with surgical castration: new insights attained by mass spectrometry. J Urol. 2012;187:1601–1606. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources