Effects of 5-year treatment with testosterone undecanoate on lower urinary tract symptoms in obese men with hypogonadism and metabolic syndrome

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the possible effects of testosterone undecanoate (TU) injections in a population of obese (mean age 57) hypogonadal men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in a long-term observational study.

Methods: Twenty obese hypogonadal men with metabolic syndrome were treated with TU injections every 12 weeks for 60 months; also 20 matched subjects in whom TU was unaccepted or contraindicated were used as controls. LUTS severity and the impact of TU injections were assessed by differences in International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), maximum urinary flow (Qmax) rate in milliliters, post-void residual (PVR) volume, and prostate size every 12 months in a 5-year controlled study.

Results: TU injections did not produce differences in IPSS, Qmax, PVR, and prostate size in both groups. No modification in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and hematocrit levels was also found between the 2 groups. Interestingly, controls showed increased incidence of prostatitis than TU-treated men (10% vs 30%, P <.01).

Conclusion: We showed that 5 years of TU treatment did not change IPSS, PVR, Qmax, or prostate size in obese hypogonadal men with metabolic syndrome and moderate LUTS at baseline. Therefore, long-term TU replacement therapy is a safe and effective treatment for reverting hypogonadal features related to metabolic syndrome and does not impact negatively on LUTS and prostate volume.