A common testosterone supplement could help extend the lives of men with an aggressive form of brain cancer, a study suggests. The research, published in the scientific journal Nature, analysed data from more than 1,300 men with glioblastoma – the most aggressive type of brain tumour – and revealed what was described as a 'surprising' discovery.
They found that male brain cancer patients who were taking testosterone supplements – for reasons unrelated to their cancer – had a 38 per cent lower risk of dying during the study period. However, researchers did not observe the same effect in women.
Researchers believe that testosterone may help slow tumour growth by supporting the brain's immune defences – and these findings support earlier studies on animals. When testosterone levels dropped in mice with glioblastoma, researchers found the brain produced higher levels of stress hormones and inflammation, creating what scientists described as an 'immunosuppressive' environment in which tumours could grow more easily and evade attack from the immune system.
Brain cancer affects around 12,000 people in Britain every year and is one of the deadliest forms of the disease, killing around 5,000 annually. Glioblastoma has an average survival time of between 12 and 18 months, according to The Brain Tumour Charity. Research also shows the disease is around 60 per cent more common in men, who also tend to have poorer survival outcomes.
'This outcome is a welcome surprise and may potentially offer a lead for new treatments for a kind of cancer that is deadlier in men,' said Dr Anthony Letai, director of the National Cancer Institute.
