ReviewInternational journal of transgender health2020
Effects of antiandrogens on prolactin levels among transgender women on estrogen therapy: A systematic review.
Review in International journal of transgender health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Endocrine Management of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Adolescents: Expert Opinion of the ESPE Working Group on Gender Incongruence and the Endo-ERN Main Thematic Group on Sexual Development and Maturation.Hormone research in paediatrics · 2026Guideline
- Prolactinoma Resection in a Transgender Woman on Gender-affirming Hormone Therapy.JCEM case reports · 2025Article
- GnRH analogs as a monotherapy in transgender and gender-diverse adolescents: clinical insights from a single-center study.Endocrine connections · 2025Article
- Approach to prolactin monitoring and hyperprolactinaemia in transgender and gender-diverse individuals undergoing gender affirming hormone therapy.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Article
- Gender Reassignment and the Role of the Laboratory in Monitoring Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Effectiveness of low dose cyproterone acetate compared to standard dose in feminizing hormone treatment: a single institutional retrospective pilot study.Sexual medicine · 2024Article
- Clinical Impact of New Reference Intervals for the Roche Prolactin II Immunoassay.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2024Article
- The efficacy of and user satisfaction with different antiandrogens in Chinese transgender women.International journal of transgender health · 2024Article
- Assessing Knowledge of, Experience with, and Willingness to Prescribe Hormone Therapy to Transgender Individuals with HIV: A National Survey of HIV Practitioners.Transgender health · 2023Article
- Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8.International journal of transgender health · 2022Article
- Galactorrhea and Pituitary Microadenoma in an 18-Year-Old Transfeminine Youth: A Case Report.AACE endocrinology and diabetesArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGender-affirming hormone therapy for transgender women includes estrogen and antiandrogens (cyproterone acetate, spironolactone, or gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists). Both estrogen and antiandrogens are reported to increase prolactin levels. The objective is to systematically review the evidence of the effects of antiandrogens on prolactin levels, hyperprolactinemia, and prolactinomas among transgender women on estrogen therapy.
methodsWe searched PubMed, Embase, and PsycInfo up to May 2020. We included studies with at least 3 months follow-up that evaluated the effects of antiandrogens among transgender women and reported on prolactin levels, hyperprolactinemia, or image-confirmed prolactinomas. Two reviewers independently screened studies for eligibility, serially abstracted data, and independently assessed risk of bias and graded strength of evidence.
findingsWe included 17 studies (16 publications): 8 prospective cohorts, 8 retrospective cohorts, and 1 cross-sectional study, each with a moderate to serious risk of bias. Among transgender women on estrogen, prolactin levels increased by over 100% with cyproterone acetate and by up to 45% with spironolactone. However, we were unable to isolate the effects of antiandrogens from estrogen therapy. We were unable to draw conclusions about effects of antiandrogens on hyperprolactinemia and prolactinomas.
interpretationProlactin levels may be increased in transgender women who are taking both estrogens and an antiandrogen. Future research is needed to determine the effects of different antiandrogens on prolactin levels separately from estrogen therapy. Ideally, future studies would be prospective, provide either a comparison of two different antiandrogens or compare combination of estrogen and antiandrogen therapy to estrogen alone, and control for possible confounders.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.