We know that “cycling” prostate cancer patients on and off high doses on testosterone while they are on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) appears to have significant therapeutic benefit in at least some patients (see, for example, here).
The use of what is known as bipolar androgen therapy or BAT is still in early stages of development. However, a recent report from an Italian research group (Gravina et al.) in the journal Oncotarget has now offered a more sophisticated explanation of why BAT may work, and we are sure that this will be of interest to at least a subset of our readers. The entire paper is available on line.
For those who are less interested in the biological details, what Gravina et al. have been able to offer is information about how “pulsing” the doses of supplemental testosterone affects levels of particular biological molecules that are critical to the growth of prostate cancer cells, and how changing the levels of these particular biomolecules can impact the growth and development of prostate cancer through senescence (cell aging) and cytostatic effects (that impact cell growth and cell division).
Filed under: Living with Prostate Cancer, Management, Treatment | Tagged: androgen, BAT, bipolar, cycling, testosterone |
THE "NEW" PROSTATE CANCER INFOLINK 
To hear Sam Denmeade at Johns Hopkins explain BAT, click here.