By Elodie Vaz | Published on May 19,
2026 | 4 min read
A study conducted by
researchers at Cleveland Clinic offers unexpected insight into the interactions
between male hormones and brain cancer. Published on May 6 in the journal Nature,
the work shows that androgens, particularly testosterone, could limit the
growth of glioblastoma in men, contradicting the long-standing dominant
hypothesis that these hormones promote the disease.
Glioblastoma is the most
common and most aggressive form of primary brain tumor in adults. This cancer
is associated with a very poor prognosis despite therapeutic advances. It
affects men more often than women, an epidemiological observation that has led
many researchers to suspect that male hormones play a harmful role in tumor
progression.
The authors note that
previous studies had not explored the effects of androgens in the specific
context of the brain, an organ with a unique immune environment.
“The brain evolved to
prevent external attacks, including the entry of immune cells from other parts
of the body. It is a delicate tissue that often does not want major immune
reactions,” Justin Lathia, senior author of the study, explained in a press release.
The role of androgens
in the brain environment
The researchers’ goal was
to assess how androgens influence tumor growth within the brain
microenvironment. The team studied preclinical models of glioblastoma to
determine the biological consequences of a reduction in androgen hormones such
as testosterone.
The scientists focused in
particular on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, or HPA, axis, the main
neuroendocrine system involved in the stress response. According to their
hypothesis, hormonal disruption could alter the brain’s protective immune
mechanisms and promote tumor progression.
When a lack of
testosterone promotes the tumor
In their experiments on
mice, the researchers reduced androgen levels in glioblastoma models. They then
observed the effects on brain inflammation, hormonal activation and tumor
progression.
The results show that a
decrease in androgens triggers hyperactivation of the HPA axis. This response
leads to an increase in stress hormones and prompts certain cells to further
reinforce the brain’s immune isolation from the rest of the body.
This “lockdown”
intensifies local immunosuppression, reduces immune cell access to the tumor
and therefore allows cancer cells to progress almost unchecked. The authors
specify that this effect was not observed in female mice receiving
testosterone.
The researchers also
identified a possible triggering mechanism: tumor-induced inflammation of the
hypothalamus in androgen-deficient animals. They now plan to study how a
localized tumor can provoke an inflammatory response in another region of the
brain.
Men on testosterone
who live longer
To compare their
preclinical observations with human data, the scientists analyzed information
from more than 1,300 men with glioblastoma from the U.S. SEER database —
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results — maintained by the NIH and the
National Cancer Institute.
They found that patients
receiving testosterone supplementation for reasons unrelated to cancer had a
38% lower risk of death compared with patients who were not receiving it.
Although this association
does not prove a causal link, the authors say it strengthens the biological
consistency of the results obtained in animals.
“This result is a
pleasant surprise and could potentially pave the way for new treatments for a
type of cancer that is more lethal in men,” Anthony Letai emphasized.
A new avenue for
treating brain cancers
The researchers believe
these findings now justify the launch of clinical trials to explore the
potential therapeutic role of androgens in glioblastoma.
They are also questioning
the possible consequences of androgen deprivation therapies used in certain
cancers, particularly prostate cancer.
“An obvious follow-up
study would be to determine whether androgen deprivation, a common cancer
treatment, is actually harmful for glioblastoma,” Justin Lathia suggested.
This study therefore
opens up a new perspective on the interactions between the endocrine system,
brain immunity and oncology. In the long term, it could lead to a rethinking of
certain hormonal approaches in neuro-oncology and to better integration of biological
differences between men and women in the treatment of brain cancers.
Read next: High-grade
astrocytoma: combining two treatments opens a new therapeutic avenue
About the Author – Elodie Vaz
Health journalist, CFPJ graduate (2023).
Élodie explores the marks diseases leave on bodies and, more broadly, on
human life. A registered nurse since 2010, she spent twelve years at patients’
bedsides before exchanging her stethoscope for a notebook. She now investigates
the links between environment and health, convinced that the vitality of life
cannot be reduced to that of humans.
