ANDROGEN EFFECT ON PROSTATE SPECIFIC ANTIGEN SECRETION

Prolonged parenteral androgen therapy for 1 year resulted in the hypersecretion of prostate specific antigen (PSA) in a patient with no clinical evidence of prostatic carcinoma, who had been treated with diethylstilbestrol (DES) for 9 years. The PSA level declined to normal values upon temporary discontinuation of androgen therapy and increased again upon resumption of treatment. This case seems to confirm the regulatory effect of androgens of PSA secretion and to suggest a possible "rebound" elevation of PSA in patients with androgen deprivation treated with testosterone replacement. The estrogen suppressed prostatic epithelial cells were able to respond to androgen stimulation with a steady increase in the PSA secretion and positive immunohistochemical PSA staining.