New clinical trials needed to evaluate risks of testosterone treatment

New clinical trials are urgently needed to understand the risks associated with the prescription of testosterone in older men.

According to a Comment in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, written by Professor Stephanie Page, of the University of Washington and Harborview Medical Center, testosterone is now widely prescribed to older men, particularly in the USA which has brought an immediate need for appropriate clinical studies to assess the risks and benefits of testosterone treatment.

Existing studies have produced conflicting findings over whether the prescription of testosterone is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in older men, and ongoing studies are unlikely to adequately address this question, which has further increased the need for new clinical trials.