Testosterone Use Not Tied to Gynecological Cancers in Transmasculine Individuals

FRIDAY, May 16, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Short-term testosterone use among transmasculine and gender diverse (TMGD) individuals is not associated with an increased risk for gynecological cancers, according to a study published online May 12 in eClinicalMedicine.

Asra Vestering, M.D., from the Amsterdam University Medical Center, and colleagues evaluated the incidence of gynecological (pre-)malignancies among 1,955 TMGD individuals using testosterone treatment between Feb. 17, 1972, and Dec. 3, 2018.

The researchers found a median duration of testosterone usage of 1.7 years before hysterectomy and oophorectomy (median age, 24 years) and 3.1 years before vaginal and/or vulvar surgery or biopsy (median age, 29 years). No gynecological malignancies were seen, while expected incidence was ≤0.26 for all cancer types. Across samples, one ovarian borderline tumor, one case of simple endometrial hyperplasia, and one case of vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) III were detected. The age-adjusted standardized incidence ratio for >VIN2 was 0.23.

“We found no increased risk of these cancers compared to women from the general population. None of these cancers were diagnosed in the entire participant group,” Vestering said in a press release. “This is valuable information for both health care providers and transmasculine and gender-diverse people who are considering starting hormone therapy.”

Abstract/Full Text