Do evolutionary life-history trade-offs influence prostate cancer risk? a review of population variation in testosterone levels and prostate cancer disparities
Article first published online: 11 DEC 2012
© 2012 The Authors. Evolutionary Applications published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Special Issue: Evolution and Cancer
Volume 6, Issue 1, pages 117–133, January 2013
How to Cite
Alvarado, L. C. (2013), Do evolutionary life-history trade-offs influence prostate cancer risk? a review of population variation in testosterone levels and prostate cancer disparities. Evolutionary Applications, 6: 117–133. doi: 10.1111/eva.12036
- Issue published online: 21 JAN 2013
- Article first published online: 11 DEC 2012
- Manuscript Accepted: 5 NOV 2012
- Manuscript Revised: 31 OCT 2012
- Manuscript Received: 25 JUN 2012
- challenge hypothesis;
- cross-cultural variation;
- male reproductive physiology;
- prostate cancer;
An accumulation of evidence suggests that increased exposure to androgens is associated with prostate cancer risk. The unrestricted energy budget that is typical of Western diets represents a novel departure from the conditions in which men's steroid physiology evolved and is capable of supporting distinctly elevated testosterone levels. Although nutritional constraints likely underlie divergent patterns of testosterone secretion between Westernized and non-Western men, considerable variability exists in men's testosterone levels and prostate cancer rates within Westernized populations. Here, I use evolutionary life history theory as a framework to examine prostate cancer risk. Life history theory posits trade-offs between investment in early reproduction and long-term survival. One corollary of life history theory is the ‘challenge hypothesis’, which predicts that males augment testosterone levels in response to intrasexual competition occurring within reproductive contexts. Understanding men's evolved steroid physiology may contribute toward understanding susceptibility to prostate cancer. Among well-nourished populations of Westerners, men's testosterone levels already represent an outlier of cross-cultural variation. I hypothesize that Westernized men in aggressive social environments, characterized by intense male–male competition, will further augment testosterone production aggravating prostate cancer risk.