Serum testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin concentrations and the risk of prostate carcinoma: a longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND It has been hypothesized that high androgen levels are determinants of prostate carcinoma. METHODS Serum concentrations of testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and androstenedione were analyzed to determine their role as predictors of prostate carcinoma in a longitudinal, population-based, nested case-control study. The serum concentrations of testosterone, SHBG, and androstenedione were determined from serum samples collected by the Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Examination Survey between 1968-1972 and stored at -20 degrees C. During a follow-up period of 24 years, a total of 166 prostate carcinoma cases occurred among men who originally were cancer free. Two controls (matched for age and municipality) were chosen. RESULTS There was no association between serum testosterone, SHBG, or androstenedione concentrations and the occurrence of subsequent prostate carcinoma in the total study population or in subgroups determined based on age or body mass index. The association was not strengthened by simultaneous adjustment for the hormonal variables. CONCLUSIONS The results of the current study do not appear to corroborate the hypothesis that serum testosterone, SHBG, or androstenedione are determinants of the subsequent occurrence of prostate carcinoma.