Androgen Deficiency Symptoms in Testicular Cancer Survivors Are Associated With Sexual Problems but Not With Serum Testosterone or Therapy

OBJECTIVES To investigate the association between androgen deficiency symptoms and sexual function, serum testosterone, and therapy in testicular cancer survivors (TCS). METHODS A total of 83 patients treated for testicular cancer were investigated. All patients completed the International Index of Erectile Function-15 and the Aging Males Symptoms scale. Age, months of follow-up, treatment modality, and serum testosterone levels were measured. Scores for the erectile function, orgasmic function, sexual desire, intercourse satisfaction, and overall satisfaction subdomains of the International Index of Erectile Function-15 were calculated. RESULTS Overall, almost half (47.0%) of TCS experienced clinical symptoms of androgen deficiency, 28.9% had erectile dysfunction, and 25.3% had laboratory-proven hypogonadism. TCS with clinical symptoms of androgen deficiency were significantly older (median age 45.0 vs 37.5 years, P = .001) and had a longer follow-up (median follow-up 48.0 vs 39.5 months, P = .985, respectively) than TCS without symptoms. TCS with clinical symptoms had significantly lower scores for erectile function (P = .004), orgasmic function (P = .05), sexual desire (P = .001), intercourse satisfaction (P = .005), and overall satisfaction (P = .001) than those without symptoms. The aging males' symptoms correlated significantly with erectile dysfunction (r = -0.410, P = .001). In TCS with symptoms, age (r = -0.457, P = .003), but not treatment modalities (r = 0.223, P = .173) or testosterone levels (r = 0.205, P = .210), correlated with sexual function. CONCLUSIONS Clinical symptoms of androgen deficiency were associated with sexual problems and increasing age, but not with serum testosterone or treatment. UROLOGY 74: 825-830, 2009. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc.