Androgen deprivation increases frontopolar cortical thickness in prostate cancer patients: an effect of early neurodegeneration?

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been associated with adverse effects on the brain. ADT leads to altered testosterone levels that may affect brain morphology as well as cognition. Considering the reliability of cortical thickness (CT) as a marker of cognitive and brain changes, e.g., in Alzheimer's disease, we assessed the impacts of ADT on CT and working memory. Thirty men with non-metastatic prostate cancer receiving ADT and 32 patients not receiving ADT (controls or CON), matched in age and years of education, participated in N-back task and quality-of-life (QoL) assessments as well as brain imaging at baseline and prospectively at 6 months. Imaging data were processed with published routines to estimate CT and the results of a group by time flexible factorial analysis were evaluated at a corrected threshold. ADT and CON did not differ in N-back performance or QoL across time points. Relative to CON, patients receiving ADT showed significantly higher frontopolar cortex (FPC) CT at 6-month follow-up vs. baseline. Follow-up vs. baseline FPC CT change correlated negatively with changes in 2-back correct response rate and in testosterone levels across all participants. In mediation analysis, FPC CT change mediated the association between testosterone level change and 2-back accuracy rate change. Increases in FPC CT following 6 months of ADT may reflect early neurodegenerative changes in response to androgen deprivation. While no significant impact on working memory or QoL was observed over 6 months, further research of longer duration of treatment is warranted to unravel the full spectrum of cognitive and neural consequences of ADT in prostate cancer patients.