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Review
. 2020 Mar;9(Suppl 2):S135-S148.
doi: 10.21037/tau.2019.11.02.

Selective androgen receptor modulators: the future of androgen therapy?

Andrew R Christiansen  1 , Larry I Lipshultz  2   3 , James M Hotaling  4 , Alexander W Pastuszak  4
Affiliations
Review

Selective androgen receptor modulators: the future of androgen therapy?

Andrew R Christiansen et al. Transl Androl Urol. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) are small molecule drugs that function as either androgen receptor (AR) agonists or antagonists. Variability in AR regulatory proteins in target tissues permits SARMs to selectively elicit anabolic benefits while eschewing the pitfalls of traditional androgen therapy. SARMs have few side effects and excellent oral and transdermal bioavailability and may, therefore, represent viable alternatives to current androgen therapies. SARMs have been studied as possible therapies for many conditions, including osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, breast cancer, stress urinary incontinence (SUI), prostate cancer (PCa), benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), male contraception, hypogonadism, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and sarcopenia/muscle wasting/cancer cachexia. While there are no indications for SARMs currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), many potential applications are still being explored, and results are promising. In this review, we examine the literature assessing the use of SARMS for a number of indications.

Keywords: Androgen receptor (AR); androgen therapy; selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM).

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The focused issue “Contemporary Issues and Controversies in Men’s Health” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. LIL serves as an unpaid editorial board member of Translational Andrology and Urology from Nov 2019 to Oct 2021. LIL and AWP served as the unpaid Guest Editors of the focused issue. JMH serves as an unpaid editorial board member of Translational Andrology and Urology from Aug 2019 to Jul 2021. AW Pastuszak: Endo Pharmaceuticals – advisor, consultant, speaker, research support; Boston Scientific – advisor; Antares Pharmaceuticals – advisor; Bayer AG- speaker. JM Hotaling: Endo pharmaceuticals – research support, educational grant; Boston Scientific – educational grant; StreamDx, Inherent Biosciences, Andro360, Nanonc – equity/founder of early stage startups; Turtle Health – advisor. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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