Prevalence of Late-Onset Hypogonadism in Men with Localized and Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Cancer-related fatigue is a common symptom in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and can be similar to the fatigue found in late-onset hypogonadism (LOH). The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of LOH in patients with localized RCC (loRCC) and metastatic RCC (mRCC) disease under targeted therapy (TT) and compare the results to findings of epidemiologic studies.

METHODS: A total of 51 mRCC patients under TT and 33 patients with loRCC undergoing nephrectomy were included. Total testosterone (tT) levels and clinical signs of LOH were recorded (testicular volume, body-mass index (BMI), hip-to-waist ratio, International Index of Erectile Function, IIEF-5, Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male, ADAM, and quality of life questionnaire-C30). LOH was defined according to current guidelines.

RESULTS: Morning tT and calculated free testosterone levels showed no significant difference in patients with mRCC and loRCC (p = 0.551 and p = 0.430). A significant difference was found for clinical signs and symptoms including the ADAM score (p = 0.003), hip-to-waist ratio (p = 0.017) and testicular volume (p < 0.001). IIEF-5 score and BMI were not significantly different. The prevalence of LOH according to the current EAU definition was 13.7 and 15.2% for the mRCC and loRCC cohort, respectively (p = 0.302).

CONCLUSIONS: LOH was present in a significant proportion of RCC patients. Prevalence rates of LOH were higher in patients with RCC compared to patients without cancer.