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testosterone level

YTW's picture
Posts: 63
Joined: Apr 2010

What would be a safe blood testosterone level for a CK treated PCa patient? Is a level below the minimum (220 ng/dl) considered safe. I've read that this low a level can increase heart attack risks in older men. Thanks/Jimmy

VascodaGama's picture
Posts: 1517
Joined: Nov 2010


Hypogonadism has a long list of risks including heart attack, but there is no prove that it causes heart disease. That seems more related to blood pressure and cholesterol.

Testosterone (T) levels lower than 2.6 mmol/L could be due to natural “causes/processes” (ex; age) or due to stress. In prostate cancer treatments the low testosterone can be caused by radiation if that (indirectly) affects the testis (factory of testosterone), or it can be caused by castration.
Cyberknife is usually a directional treatment which avoids surrounding tissues. Nevertheless, scattered radiation is confirmed to exist but its effects in the production of testosterone are reported to be minimal.
Your T levels could be a cause due to other factors.

Hormonal treatment for prostate cancer which aims in lowering the testosterone by “closing down” the production at the testis, places us at levels of less than 0.3 mmol/L. This hypogonadism (chemical or clinical) causes a series of side effects which requires constant vigilance with tests. The list includes, “…apart of the risk for heart attacks/strokes, hot flashes, decreased sexual desire, loss of bone density and increased fracture risk (osteoporosis), erectile dysfunction, fatigue, increased risk of diabetes, weight gain, decreased muscle mass, anemia, and memory loss. Cholesterol, especially the LDL cholesterol, tends to rise, and muscle tends to get replaced by fat”.

The best counter measures to hormonal treatment (chemical hypogonadism) are physical exercise and diet. It has worked for me.

Hormone replacement therapy seems to be a good solution for hypogonadism but it doesn’t come free from problems too. HRT boost blood vessel formation known as angiogenesis which is regarded as a directly cause for metastasis. Cancer is known to starve for blood and even to induce “creation” of newer blood vessels by itself.

The protocol of some oncologists in patients on intermittent hormonal therapy, include a drug named Thalidomide which patients take while on the vacation period (OFF-drugs) to avoid blood vessel formation exactly when cancer is supposed to be more active due to an increase on the testosterone level.
“Thalidomide prevents the formation of blood vessels to tumors and that could stop the growth and spread of some cancers”.

It is obvious that healthy men, with no cancer related problem but with low testosterone might reduce their risk for heart attack by taking supplements to increase the T levels..


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