KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of low-dose topical testosterone gel for enhancing sexual function in premenopausal patients with BC.
- Researchers noted that topical testosterone is safe and may enhance sexual function in patients receiving ovarian suppression and aromatase inhibitors.
Premenopausal, high-risk, hormone receptor-positive patients with breast cancer (BC) frequently receive ovarian suppression in conjunction with aromatase inhibitors (AI). This treatment combination leads to significant adverse effects, particularly impacting sexual function, including vaginal dryness and decreased libido. Currently, there is no effective therapy for addressing reduced sexual function in this context.
Patrícia Taranto and the team aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low-dose topical testosterone gel, focusing on its effects on sexual function.
They performed an inclusive analysis to evaluate the efficacy of topical testosterone gel (3 mg/day) in improving sexual function among 29 premenopausal patients undergoing ovarian suppression in combination with an aromatase inhibitor. The primary safety endpoint focused on assessing serum estradiol elevation, while the primary efficacy endpoint measured sexual function improvement using the Female Sexual Function Index questionnaire.
About the results, data were reported on 29 patients. Of these 22 patients (75%) completed the 3-month treatment, while 7 discontinued treatment before completion, primarily due to logistical challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. All patients maintained a baseline mass spectrometry assay value for estradiol of less than 2.7 pg/mL throughout the measurements.
A significant improvement was observed in the Female Sexual Function Index measures over the visits, with an increase from a mean of 11.7 at baseline to 19.1 in the third month (P < 0.001), with the most substantial improvement noted between the second and third months.
The study concluded that topical testosterone appears to be safe and may effectively enhance sexual function in patients undergoing ovarian suppression and aromatase inhibitor therapy.
This study was funded by the AMIGO H in Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39285489/
Taranto P, de Brito Sales D, Maluf FC, et al. (2024). “Safety and efficacy of topical testosterone in breast cancer patients receiving ovarian suppression and aromatase inhibitor therapy.” Breast Cancer Res. 2024;26(1):133. Published 2024 Sep 16. doi:10.1186/s13058-024-01886-7
