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Testosterone doesn¡¯t increase cancer risk

Best says the prostate ¨C a gland in the male reproductive system that helps produce semen ¨C is a testosterone-sensitive tissue and can be affected by the hormone, much like how female hormones can impact breast tissue.

¡°We know that reducing or blocking testosterone can remove that growth signal from the tumor ¨C similar to how breast cancers can express estrogen and progesterone receptors and reducing those levels can slow or reduce tumor growth,¡± Best says.

However, just because testosterone can fuel prostate cancer, that doesn¡¯t mean you need to worry about testosterone levels from a cancer prevention standpoint.

¡°There¡¯s not a clear correlation that a certain testosterone level places you at an increased risk of prostate cancer,¡± Best says.

Additionally, if you are undergoing testosterone replacement therapy (TrT) ¨Ca common treatment for patients with clinically low levels of the hormone, rest assured: you don¡¯t need to worry that you¡¯re increasing your cancer risk.

¡°Supplementing testosterone to a safe level is considered very safe,¡± Best says.

Too much testosterone may be ineffective and even harmful

Best says it¡¯s a different situation for people who are taking more testosterone than their body needs, often as a performance enhancer.

Sometimes athletes ¨C professional and recreational alike ¨C take testosterone, which requires a prescription, or over-the-counter ¡°testosterone boosters,¡± to increase muscle mass and strength and reduce fatigue.

Best says over-the-counter products marketed as natural testosterone boosters are unregulated and can contain unknown or unintended ingredients. He says the over-the-counter supplements, including weak ¡°hormone precursors,¡± aren¡¯t necessarily dangerous, but they also aren¡¯t very effective.

Taking too much actual testosterone, though, can have long-lasting negative impacts on the endocrine system.

Your body is full of feedback loops, Best says. Your brain senses how much testosterone is in your system. If you need to generate more, it sends signals to the pituitary gland to stimulate the testes to produce more testosterone and produce more sperm.

If you supplement with testosterone, your body senses that there¡¯s plenty and starts downregulating your own production. So those levels fall, and because the testicles aren¡¯t getting that stimulation, you stop making your own testosterone and generally stop producing as much sperm. 

¡°Even though those testosterone levels are high, that can induce infertility and, long-term, it can atrophy the testicles to where they can¡¯t respond even when you take away the testosterone and the body begins to regulate hormone levels,¡± says Best.

If you¡¯ve been taking supplemental testosterone for a long time, it can be a lengthy process to wean off of it and restore your body¡¯s own testosterone production.

Testosterone therapy risks

Advertisements from drug companies can make it seem like all your problems can be solved by taking testosterone. You may, for instance, get your testosterone levels checked and want to drive the numbers higher when the numbers come back at the middle or low end of ¡°normal.¡± 

¡°There¡¯s definitely not a reason to put you on testosterone if your levels already look OK,¡± Best says. ¡°That places you at the risk of having too much testosterone and impairs your own production, so you won¡¯t be able to make it in the future.¡±

Side effects of too much testosterone include:

• Infertility
• Increased risk of blood clots
• Unusually high testosterone levels can even cause the body to turn the excess testosterone into estrogen ¨C the female sex hormone ¨C which can exacerbate clotting issues.

Your testosterone numbers can be misleading

Best says even the numbers themselves can be misleading. 

Hormones, like testosterone, circulate freely in the bloodstream, but most of them bind to proteins.  
 
The proteins are like a sponge, Best says. This sponge fills up with the hormone before the excess kind of drips off. The free testosterone that isn¡¯t bound to proteins is what¡¯s actually functional and working in the body.  
 
If you¡¯ve got a bigger sponge, you¡¯ve got a lot more that will soak up that hormone, and your levels will look higher, versus if you¡¯ve got a very small one, that level might look a little low ¨C but your actual functional level is OK.

But Best says many of the symptoms of low testosterone might be attributed to other causes and can often be solved by lifestyle changes. You can often attempt to boost testosterone naturally by losing weight, increasing activity levels and focusing on your diet.

This can significantly improve your energy levels, strength and sex drive ¨C and your quality of life. 

¡°Those are the standard things people do, and that may make you feel better,¡± Best says.

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