Hormone Replacement Therapy & Cancer in Males: Are They Connected?

There is little or no evidence to suggest that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for men can cause cancer.

There is a lot of confusion about hormone replacement therapy for men and the risk of developing cancer. That is because there is evidence that testosterone therapy or growth hormone therapy can accelerate tumor growth in men who already have certain types of cancer. However, there is little or no evidence to suggest that testosterone replacement or growth hormone therapy can cause cancer in otherwise healthy men.

In fact, because of the many other benefits of these hormone replacement therapies for men, HRT can actually lower your risk of developing some cancers, particularly prostate cancer.

What Hormones Can Cause Cancer?

Do hormones cause cancer? Hormones and cancer are a very complex relationship. There are many cancers, such as prostate cancer and breast cancer, that feed off of certain hormones, but as to whether hormones actually can cause cancer is a hard question to answer.

Female hormones, such as estrogens, are known carcinogens, and there is some suggestion that increased hormones in dairy products and meats can cause an increased risk of female cancers such as breast cancer or cervical cancer, as can abuse of birth control pills.

In men, taking hormones like anabolic steroids illegally without a doctor’s supervision has been associated with an increased risk of some cancers.

But the most important thing to understand about hormones and cancer risk – particularly in men – is that when properly prescribed for you by your doctor and taken as instructed, in otherwise healthy men, HRT does not increase the risk of cancer.

Can Hormone Replacement Therapy Cause Cancer in Males?

Again, there is no evidence to suggest that hormone replacement therapy for men can cause cancer. The confusion lies in the very real fact that certain hormones, such as testosterone, can fuel, or accelerate an existing cancer, such as prostate cancer which feeds on testosterone. Human growth hormone, or HGH, induces the growth of all types of cells, including cancer cells, so it, too, can increase the growth of existing cancers.

However, you must be clear – there is a very big difference between causing cancer and fueling cancer. There is absolutely no reason to believe that HRT for men can increase your risk of getting cancer if you are healthy and cancer-free.

HRT for men is ONLY contraindicated in men who already have cancer.

In fact, in otherwise healthy men, current research suggests that testosterone therapy may actually reduce your risk of developing prostate cancer.

The Benefits of Testosterone Therapy and HGH Therapy for Men

In cancer-free and otherwise healthy males, the benefits of HRT far outweigh the potential risks and side effects. HGH and testosterone levels decline as a man ages. When prescribed for you and used with proper medical supervision, HRT for men has many benefits and few, if any, side effects.

One of the first improvements our patients on HRT for men notice is an increase in sex drive and improvement in sexual performance. Besides improving libido and sexual function, some of the other benefits of hormone replacement for men include:

• An increased ability to build lean muscle and increased muscle mass – This is often also accompanied by fat loss because testosterone and HGH not only improve your ability to burn fat but, as you build more muscle mass, your metabolism increases, which further enhances your ability to burn fat and lose weight –, particularly belly fat.
• Increased energy levels – Testosterone therapy and HGH injections can improve your cell’s ability to turn calories into energy.
• Improved moods and cognition – HRT for males has been shown to help to return men to a more even emotional keel and can also fight depression, anxiety, and other mood swings. Testosterone and HGH therapies have also been linked to improvements in memory, focus, and your ability to complete complex cognitive tasks.

Can Testosterone and HGH Help Men With Cancer?

Because they can stimulate the growth of certain cancers, male patients experiencing low testosterone or age-related growth hormone deficiency who have cancer or have had cancer, should not consider HRT without the advice of their doctors.

Testosterone therapy and prostate cancer, in particular, is a very complex situation. As mentioned earlier, testosterone can fuel prostate cancer, making it spread more aggressively; however, when given in a very specific way, testosterone therapy may also help some prostate cancer patients.

An interesting avenue of research found that “overdosing” prostate cancer cells with intense levels of testosterone could kill them. The researchers from the renowned Johns Hopkins University basically found that since conventional treatment for men with prostate cancer is to artificially lower their testosterone levels, prostate cancer cells got used to living in that low testosterone environment. By blasting them with high levels of testosterone injected directly into cancer cells, they basically overdosed and died.

However, this is a very specific and targeted use of testosterone therapy for men with prostate cancer. For the most part, hormone replacement therapy for men is contraindicated in patients known to have existing cancers or who are in remission from previous cancers.

Conclusion

Let us state once more categorically and clearly that HRT does not cause cancer in men who are suffering from age-related hormone loss and are cancer free. In such men, hormone replacement therapies such as testosterone therapy and growth hormone therapy are a safe and effective way to increase vitality by restoring these two critical hormones to more youthful levels.

HGH levels and testosterone levels decline as men age. In otherwise healthy men, the benefits of HRT for treating the many symptoms of age-related hormone loss far outweigh the risks. However, HRT should be approached with caution in men who have existing cancer or who have had cancer that is in remission.