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Clinical Trials Update
January 28, 2020

Testosterone Improved Body Composition in Male Cancer Survivors

JAMA. 2020;323(4):301. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.22086

Male cancer survivors aged 25 through 50 years who received testosterone replacement had decreased body fat and increased muscle mass in a PLOS Medicine trial.

The study included 136 male survivors of testicular cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia who had borderline low testosterone (7–12 nmol/L). Participants were randomly assigned to receive testosterone (Tostran 2% gel) or placebo for 26 weeks.

At 6 months, the testosterone group decreased their trunk fat mass by 0.9 kg and whole-body fat mass by 1.8 kg, and increased their lean body mass by 1.5 kg, compared with the placebo group. A quarter of the men in the testosterone group decreased their trunk fat mass by more than 1.5 kg. Quality of life scores did not differ between the 2 groups.

The authors suggested that the treatment should be considered with other interventions to improve body composition among younger male cancer survivors.

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