(Press-News.org) Study found men with low testosterone levels were associated with a 60% higher likelihood that prostate cancer managed on active surveillance would progress to a more aggressive state over time
Research challenges the long-held belief that high testosterone fuels early-stage prostate cancer growth, suggesting instead that low testosterone may be associated with prostate cancer progression
Baseline testosterone may serve as a useful clinical marker to guide treatment and surveillance strategies
A new study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that prostate cancer patients with low testosterone levels may have a higher risk of cancer progressing to a more aggressive form while under active surveillance.
The findings, published in the The Journal of Urology, suggest that baseline testosterone may serve as a useful clinical marker to better stratify risk and tailor monitoring strategies for patients choosing active surveillance.
“Active surveillance is a safe and effective option for many men with early-stage prostate cancer. However, identifying which patients may be more likely to experience progression remains a key challenge,” said corresponding author Justin R. Gregg, M.D., associate professor of Urology and Health Disparities Research. “Understanding how hormonal factors influence prostate cancer biology may help us refine surveillance strategies.”
What did the study reveal about testosterone levels and cancer progression?
Researchers found that prostate cancer patients with low baseline testosterone levels (300 ng/dl and lower) had a significantly higher likelihood of their cancer progressing to Grade group 3 or higher, which represents a more aggressive disease.
In the retrospective cohort study, researchers analyzed clinical and pathological data from more than 900 men undergoing surveillance. Low testosterone levels were associated with an increase in the likelihood of disease progression, even after accounting for other factors including age, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), body mass index (BMI), and tumor density and size.
Should men with prostate cancer be concerned about low testosterone?
Active surveillance is recommended for patients with low-risk prostate cancer, allowing physicians to closely monitor the disease and delay or avoid treatment unless the cancer shows signs of becoming more aggressive. Surveillance remains safe and effective.
The study does not suggest that low testosterone causes aggressive cancer, but rather that there is an association that could help guide monitoring and decision-making. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings and to determine if testosterone level may be a useful marker of future progression risk in individual patients.
***
A full list of collaborating authors and their disclosures can be found with the full paper.
END
Low testosterone levels may be associated with increased risk of prostate cancer progression during surveillance
2026-03-10
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Analysis of ancient parrot DNA reveals sophisticated, long-distance animal trade network that pre-dates the Inca Empire
2026-03-10
New analysis of ancient parrot DNA has revealed vibrant Amazonian parrots were transported alive across the Andes to coastal Peru centuries before the Inca Empire, highlighting a sophisticated pre-Inca, long-distance trade network spanning rainforest, highlands and deserts.
The international team of researchers, including scientists from The Australian National University (ANU), analysed parrot feathers that were discovered at Pachacamac, Peru – one of the preeminent religious centres of the Andean civilisation – ...
How does snow gather on a roof?
2026-03-10
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2026 — No two snowflakes may be the same, but models that fail to take these variations into consideration often fall short when calculating the way snow accumulates on roofs.
In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Harbin Institute of Technology in China modeled the way snow gathers on a roof based on snowflake size and distribution.
“In cold regions, snow load is a critical factor in structural design,” said author Qingwen Zhang. “However, traditional models often simplify snow as a uniform material with a single particle size, overlooking the natural heterogeneity of snowflake sizes and distributions.”
This simplification ...
Modeling how pollen flows through urban areas
2026-03-10
WASHINGTON, March 10, 2026 — Due to climate change, plants’ pollination season has been growing longer and longer. As a result, people are exposed to allergens for extended periods each year, raising a major public health concern.
In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University and two French universities, the University of Rouen Normandy and the University of Lille, developed an advanced computational model of outdoor airflow through trees. They used ...
Blood test predicts dementia in women as many as 25 years before symptoms begin
2026-03-10
Researchers from the University of California San Diego have found that a novel blood-based biomarker can predict a woman’s risk of developing dementia as many as 25 years before symptoms appear. The study, published on March 10, 2026 in JAMA Network Open, shows that higher levels of phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) — a protein linked to the brain changes seen in Alzheimer’s disease — were strongly associated with future mild cognitive impairment and dementia among older women who were cognitively healthy at baseline, meaning at the start of the study before any memory or thinking problems were detected.
“Our ...
Female reproductive cancers and the sex gap in survival
2026-03-10
About The Study: In this population-level cohort study of 20 low-mortality countries, females ages 35 to 60 experienced disadvantage in cancer mortality compared with males—a consistent pattern observed across birth cohorts and over time. These findings underscore the ongoing need for action on the prevention, early detection, and treatment of early-onset female reproductive cancers.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Vladimir Canudas-Romo, PhD, email vladimir.canudas-romo@anu.edu.au.
To access the embargoed study: Visit ...
GLP-1RA switching and treatment persistence in adults without diabetes
2026-03-10
About The Study: In this large cohort of adults with overweight or obesity without diabetes, fewer than 1 in 4 patients remained on any glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) after 12 months. Switching between GLP-1RA agents was common and may reflect active therapy management rather than nonengagement, particularly as new formulations and weight management agents emerge.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Luyu Xie, PharmD, PhD, email luyu.xie@utsouthwestern.edu.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our ...
Gnaw-y by nature: Researchers discover neural circuit that rewards gnawing behavior in rodents
2026-03-10
Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered that the constant gnawing of rodents isn't just a reflex or a consequence of a tough diet. It also triggers a release of dopamine in the brain—which acts as a biochemical reward or incentive—through a newly identified neural circuit.
Although the circuit was discovered in mice, it could also be at work in other mammals, the researchers said, adding to a growing body of evidence that there's a deeper connection between our brains and our oral health and habits.
"In the old point of view, everyone sort of believed that gnawing was ...
Research alert: How one receptor can help — or hurt — your blood vessels
2026-03-10
Researchers at the University of California San Diego have uncovered how a single protein triggers two opposite responses in blood vessels — one inflammatory and one protective. This protein, a cell-surface receptor called protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR1), plays a critical role in maintaining the structural integrity of our blood vessels. Understanding how PAR1 switches between healing and harmful signaling pathways could pave the way for new treatments for conditions marked by vascular inflammation and leakage, including sepsis, heart attack and stroke.
PAR1 sits on the surface of the thin layer of cells lining blood vessels ...
Lamprey-inspired amphibious suction disc with hybrid adhesion mechanism
2026-03-10
“In complex cross-media environments, existing attachment mechanisms face significant physical constraints,” said Junzhi Yu, corresponding author and Professor at Peking University. “Traditional suction cups easily fail underwater due to fluid washing, or they lose their vacuum seal on rough surfaces. We needed a unified mechanism that could break through the dual barriers of environmental media and surface morphology.”
To achieve this, the team looked to the lamprey. The ...
A domain generalization method for EEG based on domain-invariant feature and data augmentation
2026-03-10
“Domain bias caused by individual differences and device variations severely limits BCI’s practical application, while existing methods struggle with feature decoupling and noise sensitivity,” explained study corresponding author Jing Jin from East China University of Science and Technology. The core innovations include (a) a fixed structure decoupler to separate category-related and independent features; (b) fine-grained patch coding and gated channel attention for spatiotemporal feature extraction; and (c) an Interclass Prototype Network (IPN) to enhance feature discriminability. “This hybrid approach enables the model to learn robust domain-invariant ...